Reliability of Repeated Measurements on Post-Burn Scars with Corneometer CM 825(®).
OBJECTIVE
The water content in burn scars, the parameter of stratum corneum water holding capacity, is an important feature in evaluation of biophysical properties of scars. Nevertheless, quantifiying this parameter is a challenge. In this study, the reliability of repeated water content measurements with Corneometer CM825(®) on (burn) scars was investigated.


METHODS
Intra-observer reliability, inter-observer reliability and day-by-day variability were examined on 30 scars by means of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and within-subject coefficient of variation (WSCV). Bland-Altman plots with '95% limits of agreement' were constructed.


RESULTS
Results revealed excellent ICC values (ICCintra  = 0.985; ICCinter  = 0.984) with relatively low WSCV (WSCVintra  = 6.3%; WSCVinter  = 10.6%) for respectively intra- and inter-observer reliability. However, the Bland-Altman plot showed that more than 5% of differences were expected to exceed 4 a.u., the limit of what has been defined as a clinically acceptable difference. Results for day-by-day variability showed good ICC value (ICCday-by-day  = 0.849) and higher WSCV (WSCVday-by-day  = 20.5%).


CONCLUSIONS
The Corneometer CM825(®) is an objective and sensitive instrument for water content measurements. On the basis of our results, we concluded that the instrument can be used in clinical trials, but only under very strict conditions with standardized test protocol, preferably in combination with the evaluation of other physiological parameters.
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.|Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation & Burns Center, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.|OSCARE Organisation for burns, scar after-care and research, Antwerp, Belgium.
M
M
Anthonissen
Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
D
D
Daly
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
R
R
Peeters
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery & Burns Center, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
M
M
Van Brussel
I-Biostat, KU Leuven and Hasselt University, Leuven, Belgium.
S
S
Fieuws
OSCARE Organisation for burns, scar after-care and research, Antwerp, Belgium.
P
P
Moortgat
Department of Dermatology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
M
M
Flour
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.|Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation & Burns Center, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.|Department of Plastic Surgery, AZ Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
E
E
Van den Kerckhove
D000328:Adult; D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism*; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D058266:Dielectric Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014870:Water Loss, Insensible
burn scar; reliability; stratum corneum; water content; water holding capacity