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Reliability of Waldenström classification system for staging Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease
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Recently published data indicated the modified Waldenström classification system utilized for staging Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease showed substantial to nearly perfect intra- and interobserver agreement at various classification stages.
Researchers asked 20 surgeons to complete two rounds of determining the Waldenström stage for 40 deidentified radiographs of patients with Legg-Calve’-Perthes disease, allowing the researchers to assess both the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of staging classification.
In a second part of the study, the researchers asked 10 of the surgeons to complete staging for a second set of radiographs taken at a different time, either before or after the original photos, to allow for visualization of disease progression over time.
Survey responses were sorted into two groups after the researchers conducted reliability analysis: early disease or late disease. The researchers also calculated kappa values between each of the surveys.
Study findings showed the interobserver kappa values for the four surveys were 0.81, 0.82, 0.76, and 0.80, respectively. Surveys one and two were classified as having nearly perfect agreement, whereas surveys three and four were classified as having substantial agreement. The average intraobserver agreement for surveys one and two was 0.88, whereas the average intraobserver agreement for surveys three and four was 0.87, according to the researchers. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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