Reproducibility of five anorectal morphologic measurements in defecography.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the inter- and intraobserver reproducibility of measuring five morphologic parameters of the anorectum in defecography (evacuation proctography).


METHODS
Measurements from 42 defecographic studies were statistically analyzed. The parameters measured during resting, squeezing, and straining included two anorectal angles (posterior and axis), maximal width of the anal canal, maximal width of the rectal lumen, and size of the rectocele.


RESULTS
The results demonstrated only fair interobserver agreement (kappa = 0.22-0.38) for almost all measurements of the five morphologic parameters. There were high correlations (kappa = 0.62-1.00) among most intraobserver measurements.


CONCLUSIONS
For defecographic measurement, the five parameters we studied have relatively poor clinical value because of high inter- and intraobserver inconsistency.
Yang
X
X
Department of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland.
Partanen
K
K
Farin
P
P
Ji
H
H
Soimakallio
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001003:Anal Canal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001004:Anus Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001466:Barium Sulfate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019841:Defecography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007472:Iohexol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D012002:Rectal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012007:Rectum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D003287:Contrast Media; D001466:Barium Sulfate; D007472:Iohexol