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Reproducibility of Liver‐to‐Thorax Area Ratio Ultrasound Measurements in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia
Author(s) -
Novoa y Novoa Victoria Arruga,
Sutton Laura F.,
Neis Allan E.,
Marroquin Amber M.,
Coleman Tracey M.,
Praska Kathleen A.,
Freimund Tamara A.,
Ruka Krystal L.,
Warzala Vicki L.,
SangiHaghpeykar Haleh,
Ruano Rodrigo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of ultrasound in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1550-9613
pISSN - 0278-4297
DOI - 10.1002/jum.14826
Subject(s) - medicine , intraclass correlation , reproducibility , ultrasound , diaphragmatic hernia , thorax (insect anatomy) , nuclear medicine , radiology , diaphragmatic breathing , congenital diaphragmatic hernia , hernia , fetus , pregnancy , anatomy , pathology , clinical psychology , statistics , genetics , alternative medicine , mathematics , biology , psychometrics
Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of a standardized method to assess the ultrasound liver‐to‐thoracic area ratio in fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Methods We selected 24 images of 9 fetuses diagnosed with left‐sided at our institution between January 2010 and December 2017. Eight operators (1 maternal‐fetal medicine specialist and 7 sonographers) reviewed the selected images and assessed the ultrasound liver‐to‐thoracic area ratio according to a standardized protocol. We evaluated the correlation between operators using the intraclass correlation coefficient and compared agreement between the sonographers and a physician with experience in measuring the ultrasound liver‐to‐thoracic area ratio using a Bland‐Altman analysis. Results Good intraoperator reproducibility was observed for the standardized ultrasound liver‐to‐thoracic area ratio (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.78). Good agreement among sonographers and the physician was also observed for the standardized measurements (bias, 0.01; precision, 0.03; limits of agreement, –0.05 to + 0.07). Conclusions We demonstrated that good intraoperator and interoperator reproducibility of ultrasound liver‐to‐thoracic area ratio assessment is feasible after standardizing the method in our center.