2016 Volume 6 Issue 1 Pages 29-33
The purpose of this study was to verify the validity of the method for measuring depth of surface imprint and differentiating pitting edema. We enrolled 22 patients (44 legs), and 30 controls (60 legs) who were community-dwelling healthy elderly adults. We instructed the subjects to sit on the edge of a chair and lightly press the soles of their foot onto the floor. We measured the depth of surface imprint using the gauge for edema and the thickness of subcutaneous soft tissues using an ultrasounographic imaging apparatus. The measurement region was the central area of the back of the foot on the caput of the third metatarsal bone. We analyzed the relationship between the measured values of the depth of surface imprint and thickness of subcutaneous soft tissue using Pearsonʼs correlation coefficients. We also compared the values obtained for the patients and healthy controls using the non-paired t-test. The results demonstrated a strong correlation between the measured values of the depth of surface imprint and thickness of the subcutaneous soft tissue. In addition, patientsʼvalues were significantly higher those of the healthy controls. Our findings support the usefulness and validity of the method for measuring the depth of surface imprint for differentiating pitting edema.
