• Helen DeJong, Steven Abbott, Marilyn Zelesco, Katrina Spilsbury, Lisa Martin, Rowan Sanderson, Melanie Ziman, Brendan F Kennedy, and Fiona M Wood.
• Perth Scar and Pain Clinic, Fremantle, Western Australia 6160, Australia; School of Medical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia 6027, Australia; BRITElab, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre Nedlands and Centre for Medical Research, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Fiona Wood Foundation, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia. Electronic address: info@perthspc.com.au.
• Ultrasound Med Biol. 2020 Jul 1; 46 (7): 1614-1629.

AbstractThe aim of this research was to investigate the use of shear wave elastography as a novel tool to quantify and visualize scar stiffness after a burn. Increased scar stiffness is indicative of pathologic scarring which is associated with persistent pain, chronic itch and restricted range of movement. Fifty-five participants with a total of 96 scars and 69 contralateral normal skin sites were evaluated. A unique protocol was developed to enable imaging of the raised and uneven burn scars. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability was excellent (intra-class correlation coefficient >0.97), and test-retest reliability was good (intra-class correlation coefficient >0.85). Shear wave elastography was able to differentiate between normal skin, pathologic scars and non-pathologic scars, with preliminary cutoff values identified. Significant correlations were found between shear wave velocity and subjective clinical scar assessment (r = 0.66). Shear wave elastography was able to provide unique information associated with pathologic scarring and shows promise as a clinical assessment and research tool.Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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