M Anthonissen1,2,3, D Daly4, R Peeters1, M Van Brussel5, S Fieuws6, P Moortgat3, M Flour7, E Van den Kerckhove1,2,8. 1. Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. 2. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation & Burns Center, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. 3. OSCARE Organisation for burns, scar after-care and research, Antwerp, Belgium. 4. Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. 5. Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery & Burns Center, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. 6. I-Biostat, KU Leuven and Hasselt University, Leuven, Belgium. 7. Department of Dermatology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. 8. Department of Plastic Surgery, AZ Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/ PURPOSE: The water content in burn scars, the parameter of stratum corneum water holding capacity, is an important feature in evaluation of biophysical properties of scars. Nevertheless, quantifiying this parameter is a challenge. In this study, the reliability of repeated water content measurements with Corneometer CM825(®) on (burn) scars was investigated. METHODS: Intra-observer reliability, inter-observer reliability and day-by-day variability were examined on 30 scars by means of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and within-subject coefficient of variation (WSCV). Bland-Altman plots with '95% limits of agreement' were constructed. RESULTS: Results revealed excellent ICC values (ICCintra = 0.985; ICCinter = 0.984) with relatively low WSCV (WSCVintra = 6.3%; WSCVinter = 10.6%) for respectively intra- and inter-observer reliability. However, the Bland-Altman plot showed that more than 5% of differences were expected to exceed 4 a.u., the limit of what has been defined as a clinically acceptable difference. Results for day-by-day variability showed good ICC value (ICCday-by-day = 0.849) and higher WSCV (WSCVday-by-day = 20.5%). CONCLUSION: The Corneometer CM825(®) is an objective and sensitive instrument for water content measurements. On the basis of our results, we concluded that the instrument can be used in clinical trials, but only under very strict conditions with standardized test protocol, preferably in combination with the evaluation of other physiological parameters.
BACKGROUND/ PURPOSE: The water content in burn scars, the parameter of stratum corneum water holding capacity, is an important feature in evaluation of biophysical properties of scars. Nevertheless, quantifiying this parameter is a challenge. In this study, the reliability of repeated water content measurements with Corneometer CM825(®) on (burn) scars was investigated. METHODS: Intra-observer reliability, inter-observer reliability and day-by-day variability were examined on 30 scars by means of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and within-subject coefficient of variation (WSCV). Bland-Altman plots with '95% limits of agreement' were constructed. RESULTS: Results revealed excellent ICC values (ICCintra = 0.985; ICCinter = 0.984) with relatively low WSCV (WSCVintra = 6.3%; WSCVinter = 10.6%) for respectively intra- and inter-observer reliability. However, the Bland-Altman plot showed that more than 5% of differences were expected to exceed 4 a.u., the limit of what has been defined as a clinically acceptable difference. Results for day-by-day variability showed good ICC value (ICCday-by-day = 0.849) and higher WSCV (WSCVday-by-day = 20.5%). CONCLUSION: The Corneometer CM825(®) is an objective and sensitive instrument for water content measurements. On the basis of our results, we concluded that the instrument can be used in clinical trials, but only under very strict conditions with standardized test protocol, preferably in combination with the evaluation of other physiological parameters.
Authors: Thomas D Dobbs; Thomas H Jovic; Zita M Jessop; Amanda Kyle; Hayley A Hutchings; Iain S Whitaker Journal: Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open Date: 2018-11-16