Sunnybrook and House-Brackmann Facial Grading Systems: intrarater repeatability and interrater agreement.
OBJECTIVE
To assess repeatability and agreement of the House-Brackmann (H-B FGS) and the Sunnybrook (SFGS) Facial Grading Systems.


METHODS
Eight video-recorded facial palsy patients were graded in 2 sittings by 28 doctors. Repeatability and agreement for SFGS were measured by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of repeatability (CR), and for H-B FGS by agreement percentage and kappa coefficients.


RESULTS
Repeatability for SFGS was from good to excellent and for H-B FGS from fair to good. Agreement between doctors for SFGS was moderate by CR and nearly perfect by ICC. For H-B FGS, the agreement percentage was 50%, and generalized kappa indicated only fair agreement.


CONCLUSIONS
SFGS was at least as good in repeatability as H-B FGS and showed more reliable results in agreement between doctors.


CONCLUSIONS
While waiting for an ideal scale for facial grading, the usage of SFGS can be encouraged over H-B FGS.
Kanerva
Mervi
M
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. mervi.kanerva@fimnet.fi
Poussa
Tuija
T
Pitkäranta
Anne
A
D020330:Bell Palsy / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology; D005149:Facial Expression; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D015588:Observer Variation; D010036:Otolaryngology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014741:Video Recording