ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate inter-observer variability and reproducibility of ultrasound measurements for fetal biometric parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was implemented in two tertiary care hospitals in Amman, Jordan; Prince Hamza Hospital and Albashir Hospital. 192 women with a singleton pregnancy at a gestational age of 18-36 weeks were the participants in the study. Transabdominal scans for fetal biometric parameter measurement were performed on study participants from the period of November 2014 to March 2015. Women who agreed to participate in the study were administered two ultrasound scans for head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length. The correlation coefficient was calculated. Bland-Altman plots were used to analyze the degree of measurement agreement between observers. Limits of agreement ± 2 SD for the differences in fetal biometry measurements in proportions of the mean of the measurements were derived. Main outcome measures examine the reproducibility of fetal biometric measurements by different observers. RESULTS: High inter-observer inter-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was found for femur length (0.990) and abdominal circumference (0.996) where Bland-Altman plots showed high degrees of agreement. The highest degrees of agreement were noted in the measurement of abdominal circumference followed by head circumference. The lowest degree of agreement was found for femur length measurement. We used a paired-sample t-test and found that the mean difference between duplicate measurements was not significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Biometric fetal parameter measurements may be reproducible by different operators in the clinical setting with similar results. Fetal head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length were highly reproducible. Large organized studies are needed to ensure accurate fetal measurements due to the important clinical implications of inaccurate measurements.
Subject(s)
Biometry/methods , Observer Variation , Ultrasonography, Prenatal/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Cohort Studies , Female , Fetus/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Jordan , Pregnancy , Prospective Studies , Reproducibility of Results , Young AdultABSTRACT
Este artigo avalia a confiabilidade teste-reteste do Índice de Capacidade para o Trabalho (ICT) em trabalhadores de enfermagem. Foi aplicado questionário autopreenchível duas vezes a um grupo de 80 trabalhadores de enfermagem (enfermeiros, técnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem) de um hospital público no Município do Rio de Janeiro, com intervalo entre sete e quinze dias. A confiabilidade foi estimada pela estatística kappa ponderada quadrática, pelo coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (CCI) e pelo gráfico de Bland e Altman. Dos participantes, 81% eram mulheres e com idade variando de 22 a 67 anos (média = 39,1; DP = 10,8anos) e 36,3% tinham ensino superior completo. O escore global do ICT apresentou CCI = 0,79 (IC95% 0,67 a 0,86) e kappa = 0,69 (IC95% 0,50 a 0,80) para o ICT categórico (classificado em baixo, moderado, bom e ótimo). O kappa dos itens do ICT variou de 0,39 a 0,82 e o gráfico de Bland e Altman não mostrou um padrão sistemático. A concordância entre as medidas de teste-reteste indica grau aceitável de confiabilidade, sugerindo adequação do processo de aferição entre trabalhadores de enfermagem.
This paper assesses the test retest reliability of the Work Ability Index (WAI) in nursing workers. A self-administered questionnaire was applied twice to a group of 80 workers (nurses and nursing aides/assistants) at a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil within an interval from seven to fifteen days. The reliability was estimated using quadratic weighted kappa statistics, interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Bland and Altman plot. Eighty-one percent of participants were women aged betweenfrom 22 to 67 years (mean =39.1; SD=10.8 years); 36.3% had completed higher education. The global score of the WAI presented ICC= 0.79 (IC95% 0.67 to 0.86) and weighted kappa=0.69 (CI95% 0.50 to 0.80) for categorical WAI (classified as low, moderate, good and excellent). The quadratic weighted kappa of the WAI items ranged from 0.39 to 0.82 and the Bland and Altman plot did not show a systematic pattern. The agreement between the test and retest measures shows an acceptable degree of reliability, suggesting the adequacy of the assessment process among nursing workers.
