title: Inter- and intraobserver reliability of computed tomography in assessment of thoracic pedicle screw placement.
abstract: METHODS
  Reliability study of computed tomography imaging in 12 cadaver specimens instrumented with titanium or stainless steel thoracic pedicle screws.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate inter- and intraobserver reliability of computed tomography scan in determining the accuracy of thoracic pedicle screw placement and to identify the differences in observers' agreement when viewing stainless steel versus titanium screws.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Computed tomography is often used to assess the accuracy of pedicle screw placement. Accuracy of screw placement is important in the thoracic spine where pedicle morphometry increases the difficulty of screw placement (vital structures are at increased risk). The current literature lacks a critical evaluation of computed tomography reliability among observers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve adult cadavers were instrumented with thoracic pedicle screws. Nine cadavers were instrumented with titanium screws and three with stainless steel screws. The spines were imaged with computed tomography. Three observers used a grading scale to score the extent of pedicle violation and independently scored the placement of each pedicle screw on three separate occasions. Interobserver and intraobserver agreement were determined by using the kappa statistic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean kappa score for interobserver agreement for all 12 specimens (including titanium and stainless steel screws) was 0.51, which correlates with a moderate degree of agreement. Although the interobserver kappa statistics for titanium (kappa = 0.53) and stainless screws (kappa = 0.44) showed a moderate degree of agreement, the intraobserver reliability was substantial (kappa = 0.63). The mean intraobserver kappa for titanium screws was 0.63 and for stainless steel screws was 0.62.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data show that interobserver agreement is moderate and intraobserver agreement is substantial when computed tomography is used to assess placement of thoracic pedicle screws. We conclude that computed tomography is reliable for evaluating thoracic pedicle screw placement throughout the thoracic spine.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
authors: Ganesh
authors: G
authors: Rao
authors: Darrel S
authors: DS
authors: Brodke
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Rondina
authors: Kent
authors: K
authors: Bacchus
authors: Andrew T
authors: AT
authors: Dailey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001863:Bone Screws; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D013232:Steel; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D014025:Titanium; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D013232:Steel; D014025:Titanium