title: Precision in assessment of osteoporosis from spine radiographs.
abstract: Inter- and intra-observer variation in spine radiographs of 100 osteoporotic women and longitudinal change in roentgenologic status after 1 year of antiosteoporotic treatment were assessed. The method applied was naked eye inspection, and a score system estimating severity of fractures - vertebral deformation score (VDS). Agreement was assessed by the Kappa coefficient corrected for agreement by change. The results showed a satisfactory inter- and intraobserver agreement for wedge (Kappa = 0.72 and 0.90) and compression fractures (Kappa = 0.60 and 0.92). The method proved less reliable for endplate fractures (Kappa = 0.39 and 0.73). We think that the method of investigation is well suited for monitoring treatment effects in longitudinal studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Glostrup Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Herss Nielsen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pødenphant
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martens
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gotfredsen
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Riis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause; D008722:Methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D011859:Radiography; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000145:classification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging