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Determination of the anaerobic threshold in the pre‐operative assessment clinic: inter‐observer measurement error
Author(s) -
Sinclair R. C. F.,
Danjoux G. R.,
Goodridge V.,
Batterham A. M.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2009.06074.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anaerobic exercise , observer (physics) , observational error , statistics , physical therapy , mathematics , physics , quantum mechanics
Summary The variability between observers in the interpretation of cardiopulmonary exercise tests may impact upon clinical decision making and affect the risk stratification and peri‐operative management of a patient. The purpose of this study was to quantify the inter‐reader variability in the determination of the anaerobic threshold (V‐slope method). A series of 21 cardiopulmonary exercise tests from patients attending a surgical pre‐operative assessment clinic were read independently by nine experienced clinicians regularly involved in clinical decision making. The grand mean for the anaerobic threshold was 10.5 ml O 2 .kg body mass −1 .min −1 . The technical error of measurement was 8.1% (circa 0.9 ml.kg −1 .min −1 ; 90% confidence interval, 7.4–8.9%). The mean absolute difference between readers was 4.5% with a typical random error of 6.5% (6.0–7.2%). We conclude that the inter‐observer variability for experienced clinicians determining the anaerobic threshold from cardiopulmonary exercise tests is acceptable.