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The inter‐observer agreement in the assessment of carotid plaque neovascularization by contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography: The impact of plaque thickness
Author(s) -
Chen Jian,
Zhang YanMing,
Song ZeZhou,
Fu YanFei,
Geng Yu
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.272
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1097-0096
pISSN - 0091-2751
DOI - 10.1002/jcu.22595
Subject(s) - medicine , neovascularization , ultrasonography , radiology , confidence interval , nuclear medicine , contrast (vision) , ultrasound , carotid ultrasonography , angiogenesis , artificial intelligence , computer science
Background The interobserver agreement in the assessment of the grade of carotid plaque neovascularization by contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography is poorly established. Method We examined 140 carotid plaques in 66 patients (all patients had bilateral plaques, and 8 patients had 2 plaques on one side). We performed conventional and contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography to analyze the presence of carotid plaque neovascularization, which was graded by two independent observers whose interobserver agreement (κ) was evaluated according to the thickness of carotid plaque. Results For all carotid plaques, the mean κ was 0.689 (95% confidence interval 0.604‐0.774). It was 0.689 (0.569‐0.808), 0.637 (0.487‐0.787), and 0.740 (0.585‐0.896), respectively for carotid plaques with maximal thickness <2 mm, from 2 mm to 3 mm, and >3 mm. Conclusion The interobserver agreement for assessing carotid plaque neovascularization by using contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography is substantial and acceptable for research purposes, regardless of the maximal thickness of the plaque.