Fri 10 February 2012
Intra- and interobserver agreement in the interpretation of navicular bones on radiographs and computed tomography scans
Equine Veterinary Journal February 2009 41 2 124-129
Reasons for performing study: Criteria for the radiographic evaluation of navicular bones in horses have been published to standardise classification of radiographic signs. However, intra- and interobserver agreement have not been established.
Objective: To determine intra- and interobserver agreement in the evaluation of radiographic and computed tomographic (CT) navicular changes. It was hypothesised that: 1) intraobserver agreement would be better than interobserver agreement; 2) agreement would be better for CT than for radiography; and 3) pathological changes would be recognised with greater certainty with CT.
Methods: Radiographs and CT scans of 60 cadaver navicular bones were evaluated by 3 observers using published criteria. A subset of 30 studies was evaluated twice by one observer. Agreement was tested using the kappa statistic. Certainty about pathological changes was evaluated by giving the observers the option to choose 'not sure'.
Results: Agreement varied from poor to almost perfect for radiographic evaluation and from poor to substantial for CT evaluation. For radiographic evaluation mean interobserver agreement was fair, as it was for CT evaluation. For radiographic evaluation mean intraobserver agreement was moderate as it was for CT evaluation. Pathological changes were evaluated with greater certainty on CT scans compared to radiographs; however, this was not associated with improved agreement.
Conclusions: Variations in classification of navicular lesions in radiographic and CT studies were considerable between and within observers and challenge the use of such studies for diagnostic and prognostic purposes.
Potential relevance: The results of this study allowed the identification of evaluation criteria with sufficient precision to be useful for navicular bone evaluation
OrthoVet Books

MUIR
Advances in the canine cranial cruciate ligament
1st ed., 289 pages, 350 ill., John Wiley & Sons, September 2010
List price: € 119,00
Sell price: € 101,00

COUGHLAN
Testo atlante di ortopedia dei piccoli animali
1° ed. italiana, 416 pages, 300 ill., UTET, June 2002
List price: € 179,00
Sell price: € 161,00

MORTELLARO-PETAZZONI-VEZZONI
Atlante BOA (Breed-oriented Orthopaedic Approach). Approccio ortopedico orientato alla razza
Coordinamento editoriale a cura di Silvia Boiocchi. 1 ed., 95 pages, 350 ill., INNOVET, June 2008
List price: € 95,00
Sell price: € 80,00

KRAUS
External fixation in small animal practice
1st ed., 233 pages, 300 ill., Blackwell Science, December 2003
List price: € 91,00
Sell price: € 77,00

STASHAK
Practical guide to lameness in horses
1st ed., 448 pages, 159 ill., Williams & Wilkins, June 2002
List price: € 53,00
Sell price: € 45,00
Vet Events
Events
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |

