This study reports on the inter- and intrarater reliability of physical features observation. Study subjects were 176 Chinese adult persons, consisting of 89 males and 87 females. Three trained research assistants responded simultaneously and respectively to 12 items regarding the subject's physical features including 'hair', 'Mongoloid folds', left and right 'ear lobes', 'earwax', 'nostril sha...

BACKGROUND Quality control programs are necessary to maintain good clinical practice. Embryo grading has been described as one of the external quality assurance schemes. Although the evaluation of embryos is based on the assessment of morphological characteristics, considerable intra- and inter-observer variability has been described. In this multicentre study, the variability in the embryo eva...

PURPOSE To assess variability in the use of Tomita and modified Bauer scores in spine metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS Clinical data and imaging from 90 patients with biopsy-proven spinal metastases, were provided to 83 specialists from 44 hospitals. Spinal levels involved and the Tomita and modified Bauer scores for each case were determined twice by each clinician, with a minimum of 6-week...

AIMS To test the hypothesis that inter-observer variability accounts for the wide variation in reported prevalences of fibrin strands on prosthetic heart valves and to develop criteria for their identification and reporting. METHODS AND RESULTS A videotape with 30 sequences of prosthetic heart valves imaged by transoesophageal echocardiography and showing abnormalities such as strands, microb...

Health and socioeconomic disparities tend to be experienced along racial and ethnic lines, but investigators are not sure how individuals are assigned to groups, or how consistent this process is. To address these issues, 1,919 orthodontic patient records were examined by at least two observers who estimated each individual's race and the characteristics that influenced each estimate. Agreement...

BACKGROUND Spontaneous breathing trials (SBTs) are a very important test in the weaning process. The trial involves evaluation of multiple objective and subjective variables. These characteristics could lead to variability in interpreting outcomes with important clinical implications. We aimed to measure the inter-observer agreement between respiratory therapists when analyzing SBT outcomes. ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the inter- and intra-observer variability among radiologists in the characterisation of mammograms according to Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System assessment and breast density categories. METHODS The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2014 to June 2014. Using non-probability purposive sampling, al...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the inter-observer agreement of radiological diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections in children. METHODS Chest X-rays from 60 children younger than 5 years of age were evaluated by three physicians: a pediatric radiologist (PR), a pediatric pulmonologist (PP) and an experienced emergency pediatrician (EP). All children had sought an emergency room due to acute r...

BACKGROUND Triage is used to prioritize the patients in the emergency department. The majority of the triage systems include the patients' pain score to assess their level of acuity by using a combination of patient reported pain and observer-perceived pain; the latter therefore requires a certain degree of inter-observer agreement. The aim of the present study was to assess the inter-observer ...