LAUSR

OBJECTIVE Hand swelling may result from injury or trauma. Various physical assessment tools and measurement methods can be used to quantify the volume or size of the hand or fingers; however, the reliability and validity of each tool and measurement method have not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of physical assessment tools and methods used to quantify hand and finger volume or size. METHODS MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched using key terms related to swelling, edema, volume, size, hand, measures, reliability and validity. Cross-sectional or longitudinal studies that assessed reliability and/or validity of physical assessment tools or measurement methods to quantify hand swelling. Two examiners independently extracted data from the included articles and appraised the articles' quality using the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) methodology. Data extracted from studies analysing reliability and validity were grouped by type of assessment tool and measurement method. CONCLUSIONS Five physical assessment tools used for quantification of hand swelling were evaluated. All measurement methods with these tools had good to excellent reliability and moderate to high validity. The evidence underpinning the figure-of-eight technique, which uses a tape measure, was the highest. Because these physical assessment tools and measurement methods assess different aspects and regions of the hand, which one is selected would depend on the region of interest for assessment and the availability of tools. IMPACT Reliable tools and measurement methods are available to measure the size or volume of the hand and fingers, either together or separately. The best tool will depend on the aim of assessment and tool availability.