Pawan Agarwal1, Prachir Mukati2, Rajeev Kukrele1, Dhananjaya Sharma2. 1. Plastic Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery, NSCB Government Medical College, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. 2. Department of Surgery, NSCB Government Medical College, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Measurement of two-point discrimination (2-PD) is used in clinical practice to evaluate the severity of nerve injuries, neuropathy, and recovery of patients following nerve repair. Commercially available 2-PD testing devices are costly and therefore not available everywhere. METHODS AND MATERIAL: We made an economical indigenous 2-PD testing device from off-the-shelf components and tested its efficacy in volunteers. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The data were analyzed using Minitab Statistical Software Version 17.0 and Kappa statistics were used in the assessment of agreement between two devices. RESULTS: A total of 30 (23 men, 7 women) subjects were included in the study. There was good agreement between the measurements of static 2-PD with the two different test devices: from fair (Kappa = 0.408, P = 0.018) to strong (Kappa = 0.618-0.795, P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: This device is simple to make, very economical, and obtains accurate 2-PD measurements.
BACKGROUND: Measurement of two-point discrimination (2-PD) is used in clinical practice to evaluate the severity of nerve injuries, neuropathy, and recovery of patients following nerve repair. Commercially available 2-PD testing devices are costly and therefore not available everywhere. METHODS AND MATERIAL: We made an economical indigenous 2-PD testing device from off-the-shelf components and tested its efficacy in volunteers. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The data were analyzed using Minitab Statistical Software Version 17.0 and Kappa statistics were used in the assessment of agreement between two devices. RESULTS: A total of 30 (23 men, 7 women) subjects were included in the study. There was good agreement between the measurements of static 2-PD with the two different test devices: from fair (Kappa = 0.408, P = 0.018) to strong (Kappa = 0.618-0.795, P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: This device is simple to make, very economical, and obtains accurate 2-PD measurements.