Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE).

BACKGROUND

The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation questionnaire (PRTEE) is a specific questionnaire available for assessing the health status of patients with lateral epicondylitis. An official German translation does not yet exist.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the English version of the PRTEE into German.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The translation and cross-cultural adaptation was completed by an expert committee comprising people of varying professional and linguistic backgrounds. According to international guidelines, the English original was first translated into German, then back-translated and the final version was pre-tested on patients.

RESULTS

No major difficulties were encountered during the translation process and smaller linguistic discrepancies could be resolved in the expert committee. For the pre-validation testing, 11 patients with extensor repair due to persistent lateral epicondylitis were included. They rated the questionnaire as easy to understand and complete. The final version was approved by the developers of the original questionnaire as the official German translation.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the measurement properties of the German version were not evaluated in this study, the original shows good reliability, validity and responsiveness. In summary, the PRTEE is a questionnaire quick and easy to complete for patients with lateral epicondylitis. Therefore, it is suitable for the clinical routine assessment of subjective health status or the outcome after an intervention.