Kerscher, Martina

AbstractObjectiveQuantifying 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 MethodsA 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.ResultsFor 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.ConclusionThe 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.

AbstractObjectiveThe objective of this investigation was to create and validate 5‐point photonumeric scales for the assessment of dynamic crow's feet, static crow's feet, and infraorbital hollows.Material and methodsThree novel 5‐point photonumeric scales were created by a medical team. A total of 12 raters from all over the world performed a digital validation, and a total of 5 raters a live validation of the created scale.ResultsThe statistical analysis revealed almost perfect intra‐rater and inter‐rater reliability in the digital validation of the scales for the assessment of static and dynamic crow's feet as well as infraorbital hollows. In the live validation, both crow's feet scales showed almost perfect intra‐rater reliability, while the Croma Infraorbital Hollow Assessment Scale showed substantial intra‐rater reliability. Inter‐rater reliability was substantial for all three scales in the live validation. All three scales, the Croma Dynamic Crow's Feet Assessment Scale, Croma Static Crow's Feet Assessment Scale, and Croma Infraorbital Hollow Assessment Scale, were validated digitally and in a live setting.ConclusionThe created scales to assess infraorbital hollowing, dynamic and static crow's feet have been shown to provide substantial to almost perfect agreement in the digital and live validation and can thus be considered as helpful tools in the clinical and research setting. While technical methods and appliances to assess the degrees of severity of age‐dependent features are advancing, validated scales are of great importance due to their ease of use and, as shown by the validations, reliability, and reproducibility.