Does the Reliability of Reporting in Injury Surveillance Studies Depend on Injury Definition?

• Published in: Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine Vol. 6; no. 3; p. 2325967118760536
• Main Authors: Cross, Matthew, Williams, Sean, Kemp, Simon P.T., Fuller, Colin, Taylor, Aileen, Brooks, John, Trewartha, Grant, Stokes, Keith
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.03.2018; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Orthopedics; Rugby; Sports medicine; Studies; Surveillance; injury surveillance; epidemiology; rugby union
• ISSN: 2325-9671; 2325-9671
• DOI: 10.1177/2325967118760536

Background: Choosing an appropriate definition for injury in injury surveillance studies is essential to ensure a balance among reporting reliability, providing an accurate representation of injury risk, and describing the nature of the clinical demand. Purpose: To provide guidance on the choice of injury definition for injury surveillance studies by comparing within- and between-team variability in injury incidence with >24-hour and >7-day time-loss injury definitions in a large multiteam injury surveillance study. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Injury data were reported for 2248 professional rugby union players from 15 Premiership Rugby clubs over 12 seasons. Within-team percentage coefficient of variation and mean between-team standard deviation (expressed as a percentage coefficient of variation) in injury incidence rates (injuries per 1000 player match hours) were calculated. For both variables, a comparison was made between >24-hour and >7-day injury incidence rates in terms of the magnitude of the observed effects. Results: The overall mean incidence across the population with a >24-hour time-loss injury definition was approximately double the reported incidence with the >7-day definition. There was a 10% higher between-team variation in match injury incidence rates with the >24-hour time-loss definition versus the >7-day definition. Conclusion: There was a likely higher degree of between-team variation in match injury incidence rates with a >24-hour time-loss definition than with a >7-day definition of injury. However, in professional sports settings, it is likely that the benefits of using a more inclusive definition of injury (improved understanding of clinical demand and the appropriate and accurate reporting of injury risk) outweigh the small increase in variation in reporting consistency.