title: Reproducibility of grading scales of pelvic muscle strength: standard versus tampon scale.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the reproducibility of an objective scale utilizing a tampon to assess pelvic muscle strength and to compare it to a digital evaluation of muscle strength [1]. Thirty women presenting to the office were enrolled in the study. Their pelvic floor muscle strength was separately assessed by both examiners using both scales. The reproducibility of the scales was then analyzed by Cohen's kappa measure of interrater agreement. The tampon scale was found to have a measure of agreement of 0.76 (excellent interrater agreement if >0.75). In contrast, the digital scale was found to have a measure of agreement of 0.68 (fair agreement if 0.40-0.75). Therefore, the tampon scale is an easy and reproducible approach for assessing pelvic floor muscle strength.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida, College of Medicine, 4 Columbia Drive, Suite 500, Tampa, FL 33606, USA. Lmccollu@hsc.usf.edu
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Christine Kneer
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Aronoff
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000502:physiology*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013630:Tampons, Surgical