Valitrack study: Objective evaluation of medical compression wearing time and patient activity with the Accutrack® by Sigvaris Group sensor

INTRODUCTION

Objective measurement of compliance is mandatory to evaluate therapeutic effects and clinical benefits of medical compression stockings. This Valitrack study evaluates the Accutrack sensor equipped with an accelerometer. The evaluation is done under controlled and free conditions and during washing.

RESULTS

Global accordance results are excellent: Sensitivity (98.6%) and specificity (95.2%) and 92% of patients are not disturbed by the sensors when putting on the stockings.

DISCUSSION

Thanks to its specificities one sensor per patient is sufficient. Its sensitivity distinguishes still and active positions. Only hand washing remains a false positive. The Accutrack sensor objectively measures compliance and will not be a bias because 96% of patients forget it.

CONCLUSIONS

Objective compliance measurement with Accutrack allows us to evaluate the efficacity of compression, the reasons of non-compliance, and the patient's actual physical activity according to its accelerometer time-stamped.

Physician interpretation of ultrasound in the evaluation of ankle edema

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess inter‑ and intra‑observer agreement of detection and grading of oedema measured by vascular physicians using ultrasonography.

Method

In this observational study, three investigators read 113 videos of ultrasonography of the medial lower leg of 77 patients using a 15–18 MHz linear probe and reported whether oedema was present or not and, if present, to what extent. The videos were selected by the coordinator and sent every two months for a period of six months to the three investigators. Intra‑ and interobserver agreements were calculated using the Fleiss Kappa coefficient, reported with their 95% confidence interval and interpreted using the Landis and Koch values.

Results

Inter-observer agreement as to whether oedema was present or not was 0.88 (0.77–0.98), 0.96 (0.89–1.0) and 0.91 (0.80–1.0) for the first, second and third readings, respectively. The concordance was considered to be “excellent.” Inter-observer agreement as to the severity of oedema was 0.52 (0.38–0.65), 0.53 (0.39–0.66) and 0.61 (0.47–0.75) for the first, second and third readings, respectively. The concordance was “moderate”. Intra-observer reliability for the diagnosis of oedema was only 0.89 (0.70–1.0), 0.93 (0.75–1.0) and 0.92 (0.74–1.0) for the first, second and third reader, respectively, which was “excellent”.

Conclusions

The inter-observer agreement interpreting ultrasound videos using standard probes was excellent. Only moderate agreement in grading the severity of the edema using our arbitrary criteria was shown.

Role of standardized eccentric compression to reduce the varicose vein volume of 70%

Not available