Itoh Shozo, Miura Toshiki, Oka Hiroyuki, Nakagawa Takumi, Nakamura Kozo
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
Hand Surg. 2010;15(1):7-10. doi: 10.1142/S0218810410004461.
The reproducibilities of various measurements of thumb abduction were compared. Two independent observers measured the thumb abduction in 30 volunteers by the following four methods: distance between the thumb tip and the flexion crease of the index finger proximal interphalangeal joint; distance between the flexion crease of the thumb interphalangeal joint and the proximal palmar crease; angle between the thumb and index metacarpals; and angle between the thumb and index proximal phalanx. Measurements were repeated in three weeks and their reproducibility was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Intra-observer reproducibilities by distances were high with ICCs between 0.74 and 0.89, compared with those by angles with ICCs between 0.28 and 0.71. Inter-observer reproducibilities by distances were also high (ICCs = 0.79 and 0.81) compared with those by angles (ICCs = 0.28 and 0.42). Assessment of thumb abduction based on distance in the first web is recommended in terms of reproducibility.
