Is laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) the new kid on the block in systemic sclerosis? A systematic literature review and pilot study to evaluate reliability of LASCA to measure peripheral blood perfusion in scleroderma patients

Maurizio Cutolo; Amber Vanhaecke; Barbara Ruaro; Ellen Deschepper; Claudia Ickinger; Karin Melsens; Yves Piette; Amelia Chiara Trombetta; Filip De Keyser; Vanessa Smith; EULAR Study Group on Microcirculation in Rheumatic Diseases

doi:10.1016/j.autrev.2018.01.023

Is laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) the new kid on the block in systemic sclerosis? A systematic literature review and pilot study to evaluate reliability of LASCA to measure peripheral blood perfusion in scleroderma patients

Autoimmun Rev. 2018 Aug;17(8):775-780. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2018.01.023. Epub 2018 Jun 6.

Affiliations

¹ Research Laboratory and Academic Division of Clinical Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Via Balbi 5, Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: mcutolo@unige.it.
² Department of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: amber.vanhaecke@ugent.be.
³ Research Laboratory and Academic Division of Clinical Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Via Balbi 5, Genoa, Italy.
⁴ Biostatistics Unit, Ghent University Hospital, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: ellen.deschepper@ugent.be.
⁵ Division of Rheumatology, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, PO Box Bertsham 2013, Johannesburg, South Africa. Electronic address: ickinger@wol.co.za.
⁶ Department of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: karin.melsens@ugent.be.
⁷ Department of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: yves.piette@ugent.be.
⁸ Department of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: filip.dekeyser@ugent.be.
⁹ Department of Rheumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: vanessa.smith@ugent.be.

PMID: 29885540
DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2018.01.023

Abstract

Objectives: A reliable tool to evaluate flow is paramount in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We describe herein on the one hand a systematic literature review on the reliability of laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) to measure the peripheral blood perfusion (PBP) in SSc and perform an additional pilot study, investigating the intra- and inter-rater reliability of LASCA.

Methods: A systematic search was performed in 3 electronic databases, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. In the pilot study, 30 SSc patients and 30 healthy subjects (HS) underwent LASCA assessment. Intra-rater reliability was assessed by having a first anchor rater performing the measurements at 2 time-points and inter-rater reliability by having the anchor rater and a team of second raters performing the measurements in 15 SSc and 30 HS. The measurements were repeated with a second anchor rater in the other 15 SSc patients, as external validation.

Results: Only 1 of the 14 records of interest identified through the systematic search was included in the final analysis. In the additional pilot study: intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for intra-rater reliability of the first anchor rater was 0.95 in SSc and 0.93 in HS, the ICC for inter-rater reliability was 0.97 in SSc and 0.93 in HS. Intra- and inter-rater reliability of the second anchor rater was 0.78 and 0.87.

Conclusions: The identified literature regarding the reliability of LASCA measurements reports good to excellent inter-rater agreement. This very pilot study could confirm the reliability of LASCA measurements with good to excellent inter-rater agreement and found additionally good to excellent intra-rater reliability. Furthermore, similar results were found in the external validation.

Keywords: EULAR Study Group on Microcirculation in Rheumatic Diseases; Laser speckle contrast analysis; Microcirculation; Reliability; Systematic literature review; Systemic sclerosis.

Publication types

Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Case-Control Studies
Female
Humans
Laser-Doppler Flowmetry / methods*
Male
Middle Aged
Perfusion Imaging / methods*
Pilot Projects
Reproducibility of Results
Scleroderma, Systemic / blood
Scleroderma, Systemic / diagnosis*
Scleroderma, Systemic / diagnostic imaging