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Gastric mucosal atrophy: interobserver consistency using new criteria for classification and grading
Author(s) -
Rugge M.,
Correa P.,
Dixon M. F.,
Fiocca R.,
Hattori T.,
Lechago J.,
Leandro G.,
Price A. B.,
Sipponen P.,
Solcia E.,
Watanabe H.,
Genta R. M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2036.2002.01301.x
Subject(s) - atrophy , grading (engineering) , medicine , consistency (knowledge bases) , pathology , reproducibility , statistics , artificial intelligence , mathematics , civil engineering , computer science , engineering
Summary Background and aims : Considerable difficulties persist amongst pathologists in agreeing on the presence and severity of gastric atrophy. An international group of pathologists pursued the following aims: (i) to generate an acceptable definition and a simple reproducible classification of gastric atrophy; and (ii) to develop guidelines for the recognition of atrophy useful for increasing agreement among observers. Methods : After redefining atrophy as the ‘loss of appropriate glands’ and examining histological samples from different gastric compartments, three categories were identified: (i) negative; (ii) indefinite; (iii) atrophy, with and without intestinalization. Atrophy was graded on a three‐level scale. Interobserver reproducibility of the classification was tested by κ statistics (general and weighted) in a series of 48 cases. Results : The medians of the general agreement and weighted κ values were 0.78 and 0.73, respectively. The weighted κ coefficients, obtained by cross‐tabulating the evaluation of each pathologist against all others, were, with only one exception, > 0.4 (moderate to excellent agreement). Conclusions : By using the definition of atrophy as the loss of appropriate glands and distinguishing the two main morphological entities of metaplastic and non‐metaplastic types, a high level of agreement was achieved by a group of gastrointestinal pathologists trained in different cultural contexts.