Department of Health, Physical Education, and Sports Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.
Physiother Res Int. 2024 Jul;29(3):e2107. doi: 10.1002/pri.2107.
This study aimed to evaluate the intrarater and interrater reliability of measuring Achilles tendon (AT) thickness using a digital caliper in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Physiotherapy Department of Rabia Moon Hospital, involving the recruitment of 61 patients with knee osteoarthritis. Measurements were taken in millimeters at a 90-degree angle, approximately 5 cm from the attachment to the calcaneus, precisely where the ankle joint joins the medial malleolus. Two physical therapists conducted two testing sessions, separated by 7 days, to assess both the intrarater and interrater reliability of the digital caliper. During the second session, two raters simultaneously assessed the patients' responses on the digital caliper. The study analyzed reliability indices, including the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plot.
The study found high intrarater reliability for the digital caliper, with an ICC of 0.96 (95% confidence interval: 0.22, 0.99). For interrater reliability, the ICC was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96, 0.98) in patients with knee OA. Additionally, both interrater and intrarater agreement for measuring AT thickness with the digital caliper fell within acceptable limits on 95% of occasions, as indicated by the Limits of Agreement values: 0.32 to -0.53 mm for interrater agreement and -0.35 to -0.04 mm for intrarater agreement.
Digital Calipers have been found to provide excellent intrarater and interrater reliability when used to measure AT thickness in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
本研究旨在评估在膝骨关节炎患者中使用数字卡尺测量跟腱（AT）厚度的组内和组间可靠性。
在拉比亚月亮医院物理治疗科进行了一项横断面调查，共招募了 61 名膝骨关节炎患者。在 90 度角测量，距跟骨附着处约 5 厘米处，精确到踝关节与内踝交界处。两名物理治疗师进行了两次测试，间隔 7 天，以评估数字卡尺的组内和组间可靠性。在第二次测试中，两名评估者同时评估了患者在数字卡尺上的反应。该研究分析了可靠性指标，包括组内相关系数（ICC）和 Bland-Altman 图。
本研究发现数字卡尺的组内可靠性很高，ICC 为 0.96（95%置信区间：0.22，0.99）。对于组间可靠性，膝骨关节炎患者的 ICC 为 0.98（95%CI：0.96，0.98）。此外，数字卡尺测量 AT 厚度的组内和组间一致性在 95%的情况下均在可接受范围内，界限值为：组间一致性为 0.32 至-0.53 毫米，组内一致性为-0.35 至-0.04 毫米。
数字卡尺在测量膝骨关节炎（OA）患者的 AT 厚度时具有极好的组内和组间可靠性。
