An evaluation of diagnostic agreement rates between advanced practice physiotherapists and paediatric orthopaedic consultants for children with musculoskeletal complaints.

This was the first study to evaluate diagnostic agreement rates between APPs and orthopaedic consultants, the appropriateness of onward referral by APPs and the SCR for paediatric musculoskeletal patients referred from an APP clinic. Good to excellent diagnostic agreement was observed for routine elective paediatric orthopaedic patients, in tandem with agreement levels reported in the adult literature. The study demonstrates that APPs are clinically effective in the diagnosis and onward referral of paediatric orthopaedic patients in a triage setting.