title: Development of the quantitative indicator of abdominal examination for clinical application: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Abdominal examination (AE) is the evaluation of the status of illness by examining the abdominal region in traditional Korean medicine (TKM). Although AE is currently considered an important diagnostic method in TKM, owing to its clinical usage, no studies have been conducted to objectively assess its accuracy and develop standards.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve healthy subjects and 21 patients with functional dyspepsia have participated in this study. The patients were classified into epigastric discomfort group (n=11) and epigastric discomfort with tenderness group (n=10) according to the clinical diagnosis by AE. After evaluating the subjective epigastric discomfort in all subjects, two independent clinicians measured the pressure pain threshold (PPT) two times at an acupoint (CV 14) using an algometer. We then assessed the interrater and intrarater reliability of the PPT measurements and evaluated the validity (sensitivity and specificity) via a receiver operating characteristic plot and optimal cutoff value.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of the interrater reliability test showed a very strong correlation (correlation coefficient range: 0.82-0.91). The results of intrarater reliability test also showed a higher than average correlation (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.58-0.70). The optimal cutoff value of PPT in the epigastric area was 1.8 kg/cm(2) with 100% sensitivity and 54.54% specificity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PPT measurements in the epigastric area with an algometer demonstrated high reliability and validity for AE, which makes this approach potentially useful in clinical applications as a new quantitative measurement in TKM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seok-Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunju
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seul-Ki
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Minji
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jinsung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Beom-Joon
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000328:Adult; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055670:Medicine, Korean Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D055815:Young Adult