Inter-Rater Reliability of Arm Circumference Measurement

Abstract

The written instructions and cartoons are reliable tools that could be used by women at risk of lymphedema as well as those with lymphedema following treatment for breast cancer to measure their arm circumference reliably independent of medically trained personnel.

Prospective assessment of lymphedema incidence and lymphedema-associated symptoms following lymph node surgery for melanoma

“…Early detection of lymphedema with early referral for intervention has been demonstrated to halt progression and alleviate symptoms and associated complications of lymphedema. Unfortunately, measurement tools such as the perometer remain cost prohibitive for widespread implementation and less expensive techniques report high inter-rater reliability but can be time consuming in a patient care setting [31, 32]. Early intervention with compression and physical therapy has been reported to improve the quality of life of breast cancer patients with LVC as low as 3% LVC [33].…”

Diagnosis of Upper-Quadrant Lymphedema Secondary to Cancer: Clinical Practice Guideline From the Oncology Section of APTA

“…Using either method can result in an overestimation of the actual limb volume. The literature suggests that the cylindrical formula may overestimate the limb volume up to 5% and the single or summed truncated cone formula by at least 100 mL 65–67. There is level I evidence of good intertester (ICC = 0.84) and excellent intratester reliability (ICC = 0.89-0.92) using the “figure-of-eight” circumferential measurement for hand swelling due to breast cancer–related lymphedema 68.…”

Self-measurement of upper extremity volume in women post-breast cancer: reliability and validity study

“…In one previous study Foroughi et al (2011) found that measurements performed by trained researchers have a moderate to high correlation with measurements performed by a family member or a friend of healthy subjects (r p 0.68-0.94). It might be that self-measurement among women who need to measure on a regular basis is more valid due to the familiar sensation of the tape and the tightness needed for accurate measure.…”

“…Sample size calculation was based on the current literature which shows high correlations between different assessors' measurements intra-class correlations (ICC)40.95 (Megens, Harris, Kim-Sing, and McKenzie, 2001), or between therapist and family relative measurements r p 40.64 (Foroughi et al, 2011). Based on these and in order to provide 80% power to detect an association of r p 40.85 with an alpha level of 0.05, a sample size of 15 subjects was needed.…”

“…It is generally assumed that self-monitoring of the upper limb is difficult since it must be performed using only one hand (Lette, 2006). Foroughi et al (2011) compared measurements performed by trained researchers to those performed by a family member or a friend and by an optoelectronic perometer. They found a correlation of 0.68-0.94 between the measurements taken by the trained researchers and those taken by a family member or a friend.…”