Background: This study aimed to determine which of three devices and canine hindlimb muscle circumference
measurement (MCM) displayed the highest inter-observer reliability. In addition, determine
whether the measuring devices (MD) and MCMs would be reliable objective outcome measures
to accurately measure muscle mass in canines.
Materials and Methods: Five canine cadavers were placed in left lateral recumbency, for three observers
to measure the right hindlimb muscle circumference in triplicate using three measuring
devices and anatomical landmarks (ALs). The hindlimb MCMs used were upper hindquarter
(UH), upper thigh (UT), and mid-femur (MF) muscle circumference taken from three ALs
and the measuring devices (MDs) used were the Gulick tape II (GT), standard tape (ST),
and circumferential tape (CIRCT). Triplicate measurements were recorded for each AL
and MD in which the average of the three measurements was used for statistical analysis
using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).
Results: High inter-observer reliability was found with each of the three MDs at each of the
three ALs on the canine cadavers. The results show that there was a significant level
of agreement and reliability among observers for each MD and AL combination.
Conclusion: People with a similar level of experience could use three MDs and ALs interchangeably
within a similar setting with a low risk for large discrepancies. This study suggests
that when performing canine MCMs the importance of the clinicians’ experience, standardization
of the limb position, and anatomical location of measurement is more significant than
the MD used.
