Validated 5 – Point photonumeric scales for the assessment of hand atrophy

Abstract

Objective: Quantifying the degree of dorsal hand atrophy is a challenging endeavor, but often necessary, in both the clinical and the research setting. The aim of this investigation was to create and consecutively validate a 5-point photonumeric scale for assessment of dorsal hand atrophy. Material and Methods: A medical team created a novel 5-point photonumeric scale. Twelve international raters were involved in the digital validation, while five raters performed a live validation. Results: For the digital validation of the Croma Hand Atrophy Assessment Scale, a total of 72 subjects (58 females, 14 males) with a mean age of 43.0 ± 14.4 years [18–73 years] were assessed. For the live validation, 88 subjects (73 females, 15 males) with a mean age of 45.0 ± 14.1 years [20–73 years] were rated. The results revealed almost perfect intra-rater (ICC: 0.90 [95% CI: 0.88–0.92]) and inter-rater agreements (ICC: 0.85 [95% CI: 0.81–0.89] and 0.86 [95% CI:0.82–0.89]) in the digital validation and substantial intra-rater (ICC: 0.79 [95% CI: 0.75–0.82]) and inter-rater agreements (ICC: 0.75 [95% CI: 0.68–0.81] and ICC: 0.67 [95% CI: 0.54–0.77]) in the live validation. Conclusion: The created scale to assess dorsal hand atrophy has been shown to provide substantial-to-almost perfect agreement in the digital and live validation cycles and reached comparable intra-rater and inter-rater agreement to already published and validated scales. It is expected that the created scale will help physicians and researchers in the assessment of hand atrophy in the clinical and research setting in the future.