Inter-observer reliability of ultrasound detection of tendon abnormalities at the wrist and ankle in @entity1 with XXXX .

@entity1 @entity924 @entity854 @entity397 @entity309 @entity2762
OBJECTIVE: To assess inter-observer reliability in US detection of tendon inflammatory and structural changes at wrists and ankles in @entity309 @entity1 . METHODS: Fourteen consecutive @entity309 @entity1 underwent bilateral US assessment of the extensor carpi ulnaris (ECUT) and tibialis posterior tendons (TPTs) by two blinded rheumatologists, with different level of experience in musculoskeletal (MS) US. Grey scale and power Doppler (PD) US assessment was focused on detection of @entity2762 , @entity924 signal and structural lesions (i.e. @entity924 , @entity924 , partial or total @entity397 ). RESULTS: The frequency of US findings detected by Investigator 1 was 28.6% for inflammatory changes and 51.8% for structural damage changes while Investigator 2 detected 34 and 53.6% for the corresponding abnormalities. A high overall agreement (82.7%) was found for inflammatory pathology and 89.7% for structural lesions in all tendons. Mean kappa (k) values for all tendons and pathology was moderate (k = 0.42), with fair level of agreement for the wrist region (0.27-0.34) and moderate to good values for the ankle region (k = 0.47-0.62). @entity854 were detected in 37.5% of the tendons by Investigator 1 and 28.6% of the tendons by Investigator 2. CONCLUSIONS: MSUS showed high overall agreement and fair to moderate inter-observer k-values between investigators with different levels of experience in detection of tendon pathology at the wrist and ankle in @entity309 @entity1 . Further standardization of scanning method and pathology definitions may improve MSUS reproducibility.
