Validity of a New Quantitative Evaluation Method that Uses the Depth of the Surface Imprint as an Indicator for Pitting Edema

• Published in: PloS one 2017-01, Vol.12 (1), p.e0170810-e0170810
• Main Authors: Kogo, Haruki, Murata, Jun, Murata, Shin, Higashi, Toshio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Biology and Life Sciences; Circumferences; Correlation; Correlation analysis; Correlation coefficient; Correlation coefficients; Corrosion; Diagnosis; Edema; Edema - diagnosis; Edema - diagnostic imaging; Edema - physiopathology; Engineering and Technology; Evaluation; Extracellular Fluid - diagnostic imaging; Female; Humans; Leg; Leg - diagnostic imaging; Leg - physiopathology; Legs; Lymphedema; Lymphedema - diagnostic imaging; Lymphedema - physiopathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Measurement methods; Medical imaging; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Middle Aged; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Patients; Quantitative analysis; Research and Analysis Methods; Subcutaneous Fat - diagnostic imaging; Subcutaneous Fat - physiopathology; Subcutaneous Tissue - diagnostic imaging; Subcutaneous Tissue - physiopathology; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonography; Ultrasound; Ultrasound imaging; University graduates; Validity
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170810

This study examined the validity of a practical evaluation method for pitting edema by comparing it to other methods, including circumference measurements and ultrasound image measurements. Fifty-one patients (102 legs) from a convalescent ward in Maruyama Hospital were recruited for study 1, and 47 patients (94 legs) from a convalescent ward in Morinaga Hospital were recruited for study 2. The relationship between the depth of the surface imprint and circumferential measurements, as well as the relationship between the depth of the surface imprint and the thickness of the subcutaneous soft tissue on an ultrasonogram, were analyzed using a Spearman correlation coefficient by rank. There was no significant relationship between the surface imprint depth and circumferential measurements. However, there was a significant relationship between the depth of the surface imprint and the thickness of the subcutaneous soft tissue as measured on an ultrasonogram (correlation coefficient 0.736). Our findings suggest that our novel evaluation method for pitting edema, based on a measurement of the surface imprint depth, is both valid and useful.