OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent of observer agreement in diagnosis of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED). Published studies of OED examiner agreement report relatively low agreement levels; however, these studies were limited by the methodologies employed. METHODS: For this study, 64 slides were each independently examined twice by three oral pathologists. Consistency was assessed by determining intra- and interexaminer agreement. Conformity was assessed by using the modal diagnosis as a gold standard. RESULTS: The group showed moderate interobserver agreement when grading the presence or absence of OED with a group-simple kappa (Ks) of 0.51 (95% CI = 0.42-0.61), and substantial agreement when using a 5-point ordinal scale with a group-weighted kappa (Kw) of 0.74 (95% CI = 0.64-0.85). The group showed fair to substantial intraexaminer agreement when assessing the presence or absence of OED, with Ks ranging from 0.22 to 0.78, and showing almost a perfect agreement using a 5-point ordinal scale, with Kw ranging from 0.82-0.96. Conformity with the comparison standard modal diagnosis was almost perfect, with pairwise Kw ranging from 0.81 to 0.92. CONCLUSION: Overall, there was substantial intra- and interobserver consistency and almost perfect conformity in the grading of OED. Appropriate statistical methods are necessary to determine the degree of observer agreement.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent of observer agreement in diagnosis of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED). Published studies of OED examiner agreement report relatively low agreement levels; however, these studies were limited by the methodologies employed. METHODS: For this study, 64 slides were each independently examined twice by three oral pathologists. Consistency was assessed by determining intra- and interexaminer agreement. Conformity was assessed by using the modal diagnosis as a gold standard. RESULTS: The group showed moderate interobserver agreement when grading the presence or absence of OED with a group-simple kappa (Ks) of 0.51 (95% CI = 0.42-0.61), and substantial agreement when using a 5-point ordinal scale with a group-weighted kappa (Kw) of 0.74 (95% CI = 0.64-0.85). The group showed fair to substantial intraexaminer agreement when assessing the presence or absence of OED, with Ks ranging from 0.22 to 0.78, and showing almost a perfect agreement using a 5-point ordinal scale, with Kw ranging from 0.82-0.96. Conformity with the comparison standard modal diagnosis was almost perfect, with pairwise Kw ranging from 0.81 to 0.92. CONCLUSION: Overall, there was substantial intra- and interobserver consistency and almost perfect conformity in the grading of OED. Appropriate statistical methods are necessary to determine the degree of observer agreement.
Authors: Paul M Speight; Timothy J Abram; Pierre N Floriano; Robert James; Julie Vick; Martin H Thornhill; Craig Murdoch; Christine Freeman; Anne M Hegarty; Katy D'Apice; A Ross Kerr; Joan Phelan; Patricia Corby; Ismael Khouly; Nadarajah Vigneswaran; Jerry Bouquot; Nagi M Demian; Y Etan Weinstock; Spencer W Redding; Stephanie Rowan; Chih-Ko Yeh; H Stan McGuff; Frank R Miller; John T McDevitt Journal: Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Date: 2015-06-17
Authors: Christina S Kong; Hongbin Cao; Shirley Kwok; Catherine M Nguyen; Richard C Jordan; Veronica G Beaudry; Laura D Attardi; Quynh-Thu Le Journal: Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Date: 2013-01
Authors: Stuart J Wong; Bruce Campbell; Becky Massey; Denis P Lynch; Ezra E W Cohen; Elizabeth Blair; Rebecca Selle; Julia Shklovskaya; Borko D Jovanovic; Silvia Skripkauskas; Alexander Dew; Peter Kulesza; Vamsi Parimi; Raymond C Bergan; Eva Szabo Journal: Oral Oncol Date: 2013-07-08 Impact factor: 5.337