Poor reproducibility of Evans' classification of the trochanteric fracture. Assessment of 4 observers in 52 cases.

The radiographs of trochanteric fractures in 52 consecutive patients were assessed by 4 observers, using the Evans' classification. The interobserver variation was large; only 23 of 52 radiographs were classified identically by all 4 observers. When only assessing stability, the 4 observers agreed in 34 of 52 radiographs. To assess the intraobserver variation, the same observers classified the same radiographs 6 weeks later. The first and second classifications were identical in 35-44 of 52 radiographs.