Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication, ACLC-Institute of Phonetic Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Lymphat Res Biol. 2024 Feb;22(1):12-19. doi: 10.1089/lrb.2022.0038. Epub 2023 Oct 9.
Lymphedema measurement is vital to select appropriate treatment and monitor its progress. Quantifying lymphedema in the head and neck area is challenging. The use of tissue dielectric constant (TDC) measurements has shown promising results in other body areas. This study aims to determine the test-retest reliability of a TDC measurement protocol developed for the head and neck area. A detailed measurement protocol, including eight measurement points per side, was developed. Subsequently, the reliability of the protocol was tested in a sample of healthy participants ( = 50, 28 males). Using the LymphScanner (Delfin, Finland), participants were subjected to two measurement sessions. Each measurement point was measured three times per session. Test-retest reliability for each point was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and standard errors of measurement (SEMs). Using the average of three measurements, reliability was good to excellent for all points (ICCs 0.81-0.95), with small measurement errors (SEMs 1.51-2.86). The reliability of a single measurement was moderate to excellent for all measurement points (ICCs 0.58-0.87), with larger, but still small, measurement errors (SEMs 1.65-3.39). When using single measurements, the lowest ICCs were found for the temporal (left 0.73 and right 0.67) and submandibular (left 0.58 and right 0.77) locations. Measurements with the LymphScanner, taken according to the developed protocol, are reliable in healthy participants. We recommend using the average of three measurements to optimize reliability. The protocol is fit for further testing in patient populations and for determining normal values in a larger scale study with healthy subjects.
淋巴水肿的测量对于选择合适的治疗方法和监测治疗进展至关重要。量化头颈部的淋巴水肿具有挑战性。组织介电常数（TDC）测量在其他身体区域显示出有前景的结果。本研究旨在确定为头颈部开发的 TDC 测量方案的测试-重测可靠性。 制定了详细的测量方案，每侧包括 8 个测量点。随后，在健康参与者样本中测试了该方案的可靠性（n=50，男性 28 名）。使用 LymphScanner（芬兰 Delfin），参与者接受了两次测量。每个测量点在每个会话中测量三次。使用组内相关系数（ICC）和测量误差（SEM）评估每个点的测试-重测可靠性。使用三次测量的平均值，所有点的可靠性均为良好至优秀（ICC 0.81-0.95），测量误差较小（SEM 1.51-2.86）。对于所有测量点，单次测量的可靠性为中等至优秀（ICC 0.58-0.87），但测量误差较大（SEM 1.65-3.39）。当使用单次测量时，颞部（左侧 0.73，右侧 0.67）和下颌下（左侧 0.58，右侧 0.77）的 ICC 最低。 根据开发的方案，使用 LymphScanner 进行的测量在健康参与者中是可靠的。我们建议使用三次测量的平均值来优化可靠性。该方案适合在患者人群中进一步测试，并在更大规模的健康受试者研究中确定正常值。
