School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
Department of Radiology, Radio-Oncology and Nuclear Medecine, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
Neurourol Urodyn. 2018 Sep;37(7):2249-2256. doi: 10.1002/nau.23582. Epub 2018 Jun 28.
Test-retest reliability assessment of the dorsal clitoral artery's blood flow at rest and after muscle activation has never been documented. If this outcome measure is to be used in conditions impeding vascularity, it requires a psychometric evaluation. The aim of this study was to assess the inter-session test-retest reliability of clitoral blood flow in healthy women using color Doppler ultrasonography at rest and after a pelvic floor muscle (PFM) contraction task.
Two assessment sessions were conducted using a clinical ultrasound system. Clitoral blood flow measurements were repeated at rest and after a PFM contraction task. Measurements of the peak systolic velocity (PSV), time-averaged maximum velocity (TAMX), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), pulsatility index (PI), and resistance index (RI) were taken. The test-retest reliability was assessed using paired t-test, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland-Altman plots.
For reliability at rest, ICC values were 0.95 for PSV, 0.87 for TAMX, and 0.67 for both PI and RI. The variability between measurements, as per Bland-Altman plots, was small for PSV, TAMX, and RI and acceptable for PI. For reliability after the PFM contractions task, ICC values were 0.85 for PSV, 0.77 for TAMX, 0.79 for PI, and 0.81 for RI. The variability between measurements was small for PSV and RI and acceptable for TAMX and PI. EDV parameter did not perform as well in both conditions.
Assessment of the clitoral blood flow with color Doppler ultrasound is reliable at rest and after a PFM contraction task.
静息和肌肉激活后背侧阴蒂动脉血流的复测可靠性从未被记录过。如果该测量指标要用于血管受限的情况下，则需要进行心理计量学评估。本研究的目的是使用彩色多谱勒超声评估健康女性静息和盆底肌（PFM）收缩任务后阴蒂血流的间隔测试复测可靠性。
使用临床超声系统进行两次评估。在静息和 PFM 收缩任务后重复测量阴蒂血流。测量收缩期峰值速度（PSV）、平均最大速度（TAMX）、舒张末期速度（EDV）、搏动指数（PI）和阻力指数（RI）。使用配对 t 检验、组内相关系数（ICC）和 Bland-Altman 图评估复测可靠性。
在静息状态下，PSV 的 ICC 值为 0.95，TAMX 的 ICC 值为 0.87，PI 和 RI 的 ICC 值均为 0.67。Bland-Altman 图显示，PSV、TAMX 和 RI 的测量值之间的变异性较小，PI 的变异性可以接受。在 PFM 收缩任务后，PSV 的 ICC 值为 0.85，TAMX 的 ICC 值为 0.77，PI 的 ICC 值为 0.79，RI 的 ICC 值为 0.81。PSV 和 RI 的测量值之间的变异性较小，TAMX 和 PI 的变异性可以接受。EDV 参数在两种情况下表现均不佳。
彩色多谱勒超声评估阴蒂血流在静息和 PFM 收缩任务后均具有可靠性。
