Development of a patient-report pressure algometer for the quantification of abdominal examination

Abstract

Background Abdominal examination (AE), one of the primary diagnostic tools used in traditional Korean medicine (TKM), has a limitation of being subjective due to depending on individual practitioner's experience. Therefore, we devised a novel patient-report pressure algometer (PA) and performed a clinical trial to investigate its validity. Methods In total, 44 participants with functional dyspepsia and 44 healthy participants completed the study. The participants were allocated into one of two groups according to the existence of abdominal stiffness at 5 acupoints or abdominal tenderness at 12 acupoints diagnosed by TKM doctors. The pressure depth and pressure pain threshold (PPT) were evaluated using the PA at the same acupoints. We assessed the validity (sensitivity and specificity) of PA and calculated the area under the curve (AUC) and optimal cutoff value of the test variables (pressure depth and PPT) to criterion standards (abdominal stiffness and tenderness). Results Pressure depth and PPT assessed by PA showed high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing abdominal stiffness and tenderness. The validity at CV-14 of diagnosing abdominal tenderness with PPT by PA had a sensitivity of 73.1%, specificity of 77.8%, and an AUC of 0.807 with a P value of < 0.001. Conclusion This study may provide evidence of standardization and quantification of AE through PA.

Exploring the Differences in the Gut Microbiome in Atopic Dermatitis According to the Presence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms

“…In Korean medicine, abdominal examination supposes the status of GI organs via touching and pressing of the abdomen and evaluation of signs, such as mass, pain, rigidity, and distention [17,18]. Epigastric rigidity was confirmed via palpation, while epigastric fullness was confirmed on the basis of the subjects' feeling of being always full regardless of food consumption [14,19].…”

The Impact and Correlation of Anxiety and Depression on Pressure Pain Threshold of Acupoints in Patients with Chronic Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

“…PPT is also used to measure acupoint sensitization; traditional Chinese medicine believes that the state of acupoints is dynamic and PPT of acupoints changes with the disease. For instance, some studies indicated that lower PPT was observed at the sensitized acupoints in the patients with disease [ 52 , 53 ], and the underlying mechanism of the acupoint sensitization may be related to the high expression of local allergic substances and nociceptive neuropeptides in the local skin [ 54 ]. However, in our study, group A had higher PPT compared with group B in some acupoints.…”

“…Compared with group B, the group A had signifcantly higher SAS scores (median 49 (IQR, [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] 3).…”