A total of 156 double contrast barium examinations were independently interpreted by two observers for the presence of gastric ulcer. The observed agreement between the two readings was 93 per cent, and after adjusting for the expected chance agreement a kappa value of 0.73 was obtained. At the first reading 4 ulcers, and at the second reading 8 ulcers were interpreted as malignant. None of these interpretations agreed. In a questionnaire study it was demonstrated that gastroenterologists had a realistic impression of the level of agreement in the radiographic detection of gastric ulcer.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
CohenJ.: A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educ. and Psychol. Meas.20 (1960), 37.
2.
EtterL. E.DunnJ. P.KammerA. G.OsmondL. H.ReeseL. C.: Gastroduodenal X-ray diagnosis. A comparison of radiographic technics and interpretations. Radiology74 (1960), 766.
3.
FleissJ. L.: Statistical methods for rates and proportions. Second edition. Wiley. New Yrok1981.
4.
GeffenN.DarnboroughA.De DombalF. T.WatkinsonG.GoligherJ. C.: Radiological signs of ulcerative colitis. Assessment of their reliability by means of observer variation studies. Gut9 (1968), 150.
5.
GjørupT.BuggeP. M.JensenA. M.: Interobserver variation in assessment of respiratory signs. Physicians' guesses as to the interobserver variation. Acta med. scand.216 (1984), 61.
6.
GjørupT.AgnerE.JensenL. B.JensenA. M.MøllmannK.-M.: The endoscopic diagnosis of gastric ulcer. A randomized clinical trial of interobserver variation and bias induced by knowledge of the radiological diagnosis. Accepted for publication in Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 1985.
7.
HerlingerH.GlanvilleJ. N.KreelL.: An evaluation of the double contrast barium meal (DCBM) against endoscopy. Clin. Radiol.28 (1977), 307.
8.
LauferI.: Clinical trends and topics. Assessment of the accuracy of double contrast gastroduodenal radiology. Gastroenterology71 (1976), 874.
9.
MygindT.DorphS.Blichert-ToftM.PedersenM. L.SiemssenO.JacobsenG. K.: Mammography is an objective diagnostic method. Acta radiol. Diagnosis25 (1984), 189.
10.
NordenC.PhilippsE.LevyP.KassE.: Variation in interpretation of intravenous pyelograms. Amer. J. Epidemiol.91 (1970), 155.
11.
WulffH. R.: Rational diagnosis and treatment. Second edition. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford1981.
