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Radiographic loss of contact between radial head fracture fragments is moderately reliable
journal contribution
posted on 2014-07-01, 00:00 authored by W E Bruinsma, T Guitton, D Ring, Kevin Eng, Richard PageRichard Page, Science of Variation GroupBACKGROUND: Loss of contact between radial head fracture fragments is strongly associated with other elbow or forearm injuries. If this finding has adequate interobserver reliability, it could help examiners identify and treat associated ligament injuries and fractures (eg, forearm interosseous ligament injury or elbow dislocation). QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) What is the interobserver agreement on radiographic loss of contact between radial head fracture fragments? (2) Are there factors associated with the observer such as location of practice or subspecialization that increase interobserver reliability? METHODS: Fully trained practicing orthopaedic and trauma surgeons from around the world evaluated 27 anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of radial head fractures on a web-based platform for the following characteristics: (1) loss of contact between at least one radial head fracture fragment and the remaining radial head and neck; (2) a gap between fragments of 2 mm or greater; (3) anticipated fracture instability (mobility) on operative exposure; (4) anticipated associated ligament injuries; and (5) recommendation for treatment. Agreement among observers was measured using the multirater kappa measure. Kappas for various observer characteristics were compared using 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The overall interobserver agreement was moderate (range, 0.49-0.55) for each question except associated ligament injury, which was fair (0.33). Shoulder and elbow surgeons had substantial agreement (range, 0.51-0.61) in many areas, but kappas were generally in the moderate range (0.41-0.59) based on number of years in practice, radial head fractures treated per year, and trainee supervision. CONCLUSIONS: Radiographic signs of radial head fracture instability such as loss of contact have moderate reliability. This characteristic seems clinically useful, because loss of contact between at least one radial head fracture fragment and the remaining radial head and neck is strongly associated with associated ligament injury or other fractures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, diagnostic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
History
Journal
Clinical orthopaedics and related research ®Volume
472Issue
7Pagination
2113 - 2119Publisher
SpringerLocation
New York, N.Y.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0009-921XeISSN
1528-1132Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2014, The Association of Bone and Joint SurgeonsUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Clinical CompetenceElbow JointFemaleHumansJoint InstabilityMaleObserver VariationPredictive Value of TestsPrognosisRadiographyRadiusRadius FracturesReproducibility of ResultsSpecializationScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineOrthopedicsSurgeryPROXIMAL HUMERAL FRACTURESCOMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHYHIGH AGREEMENTLOW KAPPARELIABILITYCLASSIFICATIONDISPLACEMENTPARADOXESScience of Variation Group
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