Reproducibility and reliability of pressure algometry: are digital and analogue devices comparable?

Autor: Natália Cristina de Oliveira, Klara Reis Silva, Adna Costa Santos, Fábio Marcon Alfieri
Jazyk: English<br />Portuguese
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: BrJP, Vol 7 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2595-0118
2595-3192
DOI: 10.5935/2595-0118.20240055-en
Popis: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Digital and analogue algometry have been widely employed in clinical studies, but a recent investigation observed a systematic error between devices, which may hinder comparison of data from different studies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and reliability of analogue and digital algometers. METHODS: This was an observational transversal study involving 40 healthy adults. They had preserved cognitive capacity and no chronic or acute pain. Participants were submitted to pressure pain threshold (PPT) assessment by two different algometers, 15 minutes apart: a digital device (Wagner Pain Test FPX) and an analogue one (Wagner Force Dial). Data collection involved 2 evaluators and occurred once a week. The muscles evaluated were teres major, upper trapezius, elevator scapulae, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, pectoralis, middle gluteus, paraspinal and deltoid. RESULTS: Reliability between the measurements taken by the same evaluator (intra-rater reliability) or with the same device (inter-rater reliability) on different days was analyzed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). When comparing the intra-rater reliability (evaluator 1, weeks 1 and 3), good or excellent reproducibility was observed in most of the sites, with both analogue and digital algometers, with statistical significance. The inter-device reliability (digital and analogue algometers) showed a significant and excellent correlation (r > 0.75) in all evaluated sites for both evaluators. The analysis of inter-rater reliability (2 different evaluators) for the digital algometer revealed good or excellent significant correlation in almost all sites, except for the left pectoralis major. For the analogue algometer, all evaluated sites exhibited good or excellent correlation with statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The data highlight that digital and analogue algometry have good intra-rater reliability (reproducibility), inter-device reliability and inter-rater reliability in a sample of healthy young individuals.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
Externí odkaz: