This handbook is intended to be an adjunct and a laboratory and clinical reference for the skills described in the fourth edition of Examination of Orthopedic and Athletic Injuries (EOAI4). It is not intended to describe the complexities of the clinical diagnostic process and/or the nature of the underlying pathologies.
Where applicable, we present a composite of the procedure's diagnostic evidence using graphics. The values used to represent the range of scores for inter- and intrarater reliability, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios were obtained from the references cited in the Appendix of EOAI4. Ranges for metrics that had 12 or more data points were calculated using the 95 percent confidence interval, while those having 5 to 11 data points were calculated using the interquartile range. For those tests having two to four data points, the low value, high value, and median value were reported. The procedure for interpreting these graphs is explained on the inside covers, as are the definitions of the statistics described.
We encourage both instructors and students to contact us with questions or comments. Chad's e-mail address is scalenes@gmail.com, and Sara's is sara@bu.edu. We also invite students and instructors to visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/EOAI4.