Park Young Hwan, Kim Hak Jun, Kim Woon, Choi Jung Woo
*Korea University Guro Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 2023 Jul-Aug;113(4). doi: 10.7547/21-024.
Because ultrasound measurement of plantar fascia thickness is widely used in the diagnosis and evaluation of plantar fasciitis, it is important to understand and minimize the errors that occur with this measurement. The aim of this systematic review was to identify and synthesize studies reporting on intrarater and interrater reliability of ultrasound measurement of plantar fascia thickness.
After comprehensive searches in the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases, 11 studies involving 238 healthy participants and 68 patients with pathologic foot disorders were included.
Seven of 11 studies revealed a low risk of bias. Most of the studies reported good to excellent intrarater and interrater reliability for ultrasound measurement of plantar fascia thickness (intrarater intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC], 0.77-0.98; interrater ICC, 0.76-0.98). In addition, two studies on intrarater reliability and one study on interrater reliability showed moderate reliability (ICCs, 0.65, 0.67, and 0.59, respectively). Overall, the standard error of measurement was less than 5% and did not exceed 7%.
The findings of this review suggest that ultrasound measurement of plantar fascia thickness is reliable in terms of both relative and absolute reliability. Reliability can be optimized by using the average of multiple measurements and an experienced operator.
由于超声测量足底筋膜厚度在足底筋膜炎的诊断和评估中被广泛应用，了解并尽量减少该测量中出现的误差很重要。本系统评价的目的是识别并综合报告超声测量足底筋膜厚度的观察者内和观察者间可靠性的研究。
在对MEDLINE、Embase和Cochrane图书馆数据库进行全面检索后，纳入了11项研究，涉及238名健康参与者和68名患有足部病理疾病的患者。
11项研究中有7项显示偏倚风险较低。大多数研究报告超声测量足底筋膜厚度的观察者内和观察者间可靠性良好至优秀（观察者内组内相关系数[ICC]，0.77 - 0.98；观察者间ICC，0.76 - 0.98）。此外，两项关于观察者内可靠性的研究和一项关于观察者间可靠性的研究显示为中等可靠性（ICC分别为0.65、0.67和0.59）。总体而言，测量的标准误差小于5%且未超过7%。
本评价的结果表明，超声测量足底筋膜厚度在相对和绝对可靠性方面都是可靠的。通过使用多次测量的平均值和经验丰富的操作者可以优化可靠性。
