Sharkey Amy R, King Samuel W, Kuo Rachel Y, Bickerton Shixin B, Ramsden Alexander J, Furniss Dominic
1 John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Medical School , John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom .
2 Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Oxford University , Oxford, United Kingdom .
Lymphat Res Biol. 2018 Apr;16(2):182-186. doi: 10.1089/lrb.2017.0039. Epub 2017 Sep 28.
Accurate limb volume measurement is key in the assessment of outcomes in lymphedema microsurgery. There are two commonly used methods as follows: manual circumferential measurement (tape) or Perometer measurement. There are no data on the intra- and interclass correlation of either method, making it difficult to establish a gold standard of limb volume measurement. We aim to assess the intra- and interclass correlation of each method to establish the most appropriate method for clinical practice and future research studies, aiming to compare the accuracy and reliability of tape measurement as assessed against Perometer measurement.
Student volunteers and experts (lymphedema practitioners) were each asked to perform repeat tape and Perometer measurements on the upper or lower limb of one healthy volunteer. Perometer measurements were globally more accurate than tape (average SE [Perometer]: 23.23 vs. 77.21 [tape]). For intraobserver reliability, experts outperformed students in all domains tested, with little difference in intraobserver reliability using tape or Perometer (average Cronbach's alpha 0.9597 [expert)] vs. 0.6033 [student]).
We recommend that, for increased interobserver reliability, the Perometer provides a more reliable standard of limb volume measurement.
准确测量肢体体积是评估淋巴水肿显微手术效果的关键。常用的方法有两种：手动圆周测量（卷尺）或周长测量仪测量。目前尚无关于这两种方法的组内和组间相关性的数据，因此难以确立肢体体积测量的金标准。我们旨在评估每种方法的组内和组间相关性，以确立最适合临床实践和未来研究的方法，旨在比较卷尺测量与周长测量仪测量的准确性和可靠性。
分别要求学生志愿者和专家（淋巴水肿从业者）对一名健康志愿者的上肢或下肢进行重复的卷尺测量和周长测量仪测量。总体而言，周长测量仪测量比卷尺测量更准确（平均标准误[周长测量仪]：23.23对77.21[卷尺]）。对于观察者内可靠性，专家在所有测试领域的表现均优于学生，使用卷尺或周长测量仪时观察者内可靠性差异不大（平均克朗巴哈系数0.9597[专家]对0.6033[学生]）。
我们建议，为提高观察者间的可靠性，周长测量仪可提供更可靠的肢体体积测量标准。
