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Reliability and concurrent validity of the figure-of-eight method of measuring hand size in patients with hand
John S Leard1, Lynn Breglio, Lorraine Fraga
1Physical Therapy Department, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT 06117, USA. leard@hartford.edu
Study Design:
Methodological study using correlational methods.
Objective:
To determine the intratester and intertester reliability and concurrent validity of the figure-of-eight method of measuring hand size in patients with hand pathology.
Background:
Measuring edema is an important component of the physical examination of patients with conditions affecting the hand. The figure-of-eight method of measuring hand size has been suggested as an alternative to volumetry. The reliability and concurrent validity of the figure-of-eight method has been established in individuals without hand pathology, but not in patients with conditions involving the hand.
Methods And Measures:
Participants were 24 patients with conditions affecting the hand, 9 with bilateral involvement. Two testers performed 3 figure-of-eight measurements of hand size each. A third tester performed 2 volumetric measurements. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC3,1) was used to determine intratester reliability of both measurement procedures. ICC2,3 was used to examine intertester reliability of the figure-of-eight method. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients examining the association between the 2 methods were used to establish concurrent validity of the figure-of-eight technique.
Results:
Intratester ICCs for figure-of-eight and volumetric methods were 0.98 to 0.99. The intertester ICC for the figure-of-eight method was 0.99. Pearson correlation coefficients examining the relationship between the 2 methods were 0.92 to 0.94.
Conclusion:
The figure-of-eight method is a reliable and valid measure of hand size in individuals with conditions affecting the hand.
