Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Agreement among veterinarians evaluating gross lesions of lungs, livers, and nasal turbinates of pigs.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1996
- Authors:
- Davies, P R et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical and Population Sciences · United States
Plain-English summary
This study looked at how well trained veterinarians agreed with a reference inspector when examining the lungs, livers, and nasal structures of pigs for signs of disease. A total of 21 veterinarians participated in two workshops, where they independently assessed fresh lung and liver tissues, as well as slides of nasal turbinates. The results showed that the veterinarians were very good at identifying certain lung issues related to enzootic pneumonia and liver abnormalities, with high agreement rates. They also did reasonably well with nasal turbinate atrophy but struggled more with detecting pleuritis, which is inflammation of the tissue around the lungs. Overall, the study suggests that training veterinarians to use standardized methods can lead to more reliable assessments of pig health.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate agreement between trained veterinarians and a reference inspector when recording gross lesions of lungs, livers, and nasal turbinates of pigs. DESIGN: Prospective study. SAMPLE POPULATION: 10 veterinarians in workshop 1 and 11 veterinarians in workshop 2. PROCEDURE: Analysis of data obtained from 2 workshops in which veterinarians evaluated fresh tissues (30 lungs and 30 livers) and 100 slides of nasal turbinates previously evaluated by the reference inspector. Veterinarians independently recorded observations of gross lesions. Agreement was evaluated by percentage agreement, kappa or weighted kappa, and sensitivity and specificity, where relevant. RESULTS: Agreement between veterinarians and the reference inspector was excellent for detecting consolidation of lung lobes typical of enzootic pneumonia (kappa = 0.81 and 0.87 for workshops 1 and 2, respectively) and white spots on livers (kappa = 0.76 and 0.78). Estimates of the extent of consolidation as a proportion of lung volume also agreed closely with reference values. Agreement was closer for veterinarians who had undergone repeated training and evaluation. Agreement was good for detecting nasal turbinate atrophy (weighted kappa = 0.63 and 0.68) and was poorest for detecting lesions of pleuritis (kappa = 0.39 and 0.44). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: For most of the lesions evaluated, acceptable levels of agreement with reference scores were achieved after training of veterinarians to use standardized methods to record gross lesions. Standardization of veterinarians' recordings of gross lesions should improve the reliability and usefulness of data collected by inspection of slaughtered pigs.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8756888/