title: Examining interrater reliability and validity of a paediatric cardiopulmonary physiotherapy discharge tool.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the interrater reliability (IRR) of the individual items in the Paediatric Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy (CPT) Discharge Tool. This tool identifies six critical items that physiotherapists should consider when determining a paediatric patient's readiness for discharge from CPT after upper-abdominal, cardiac, or thoracic surgery: oxygen saturation, mobility, secretion retention, discharge planning, auscultation, and signs of respiratory distress.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 33 paediatric patients (ages 2 to <19 years) who received at least 1 day of CPT following cardiac, thoracic, or upper-abdominal surgery were independently assessed using the Paediatric CPT Discharge Tool by two designated assessors, who assessed each patient within 4 hours of each other.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Kappa analysis showed the following levels of interrater agreement for the six items of the Paediatric CPT Discharge Tool: Oxygen Saturation, excellent (κ=0.80); Mobility, substantial (κ=0.62); Secretion Clearance, moderate (κ=0.39); Discharge Planning, fair (κ=0.37); and Auscultation and Respiratory Distress, poor (κ=0.24 and κ=-0.08, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Several of the items in the Paediatric CPT Discharge Tool demonstrate good IRR. The discharge tool is ready for further psychometric testing, specifically validity testing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Services, The Hospital for Sick Children.
authors.forename: Jamil
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lati
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Services, The Hospital for Sick Children.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pellow
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Services, The Hospital for Sick Children.
authors.forename: Jeannine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sproule
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ellerton
keywords: cardiopulmonary physiotherapy; outcome assessment; patient discharge; pediatrics; reproducibility of results