Intra-rater reliability of lower leg subcutaneous skin fold thickness derived from hand-held a-mode ultrasound

• Published in: Isokinetics and exercise science 2022-10, Vol.30 (4), p.293-301
• Main Authors: McGirr, Brian T., Martin, Jake L., Colborn, Chris E., Shefflette, Alex C.S., Soltysiak, Steve R., Dichiara, Elisabeth J., Caruso, John F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ultrasonic imaging
• ISSN: 0959-3020; 1878-5913
• DOI: 10.3233/IES-210157

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound is an important tool to diagnose many clinical conditions. Yet hand-held devices may be prone to more data variability in part from the greater likelihood of human error. OBJECTIVE: Quantify intra-rater reliability of subcutaneous skin fold thickness from a hand-held ultrasound device. PARTICIPANTS: College-age subjects (18 men, 14 women) submitted to two sets of ultrasound subcutaneous skin fold measurements spaced (mean + sem) 10.6 + 2.2 days apart. Per measurement, they stood relaxed as ultrasound measured the subcutaneous skin fold thickness that covered their left leg’s calf muscle group. Measurements occurred with a hand-held device (BodyMetrix Pro System BX2000; Livermore, CA) used in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. Four subcutaneous measurements were made 90∘ apart (anterior, medial, posterior, lateral) at the portion of the left calf with the largest circumference. To assess intra-rater reliability, we used intraclass correlation coefficients, limits of agreement, coefficient of variation and the smallest real difference. RESULTS: Intra-rater reliability was high for most of our statistical tests. CONCLUSION: Despite the relatively long period between measurements, our hand-held ultrasound device exhibited a high degree of intra-rater reliability. Given our results, ultrasound measurements may be a useful tool to quantify skin fold thickness.