Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Reliable X-ray grading of elbow problems in short-legged dog breeds
By Pulkkinen, Hanna S M et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2020·Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The intra- and intertester repeatability of radiographic elbow incongruity grading is high in chondrodystrophic dog breeds.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dachshunds, Skye Terriers, and Glen of Imaal Terriers were evaluated for elbow problems that can cause pain and limping due to a condition called elbow incongruity. Veterinarians used a new grading system to assess the severity of the issue through X-rays, and they found that the results were highly consistent among different observers. This means that the grading system is reliable for diagnosing elbow incongruity in these breeds. The study highlighted that dachshunds showed the most consistent results, while the Glen of Imaal Terrier had some variability in assessments.
People also search for: dog elbow pain dachshund · elbow dysplasia treatment in Skye Terriers · Glen of Imaal Terrier lameness原因
Abstract
Elbow incongruity is a form of elbow dysplasia that causes osteoarthritis, pain, and lameness, and it is common in chondrodystrophic dog breeds. The objective of this retrospective secondary analysis study was to evaluate the intra- and interobserver repeatability of a novel radiographic incongruity grading system for assessing elbow incongruity in three chondrodystrophic dog breeds-the dachshund, Skye Terrier, and Glen of Imaal Terrier. We conducted an observer agreement study that included 220 mediolateral antebrachial radiographs from 110 dogs with the elbow in 90° flexion. The radiographs were independently assessed by three observers at three time points, using a four-stepped grading scale. The proportion of agreement and Kappa coefficient were calculated. Both the intra- and interobserver proportions of agreement were substantial when three grades were required to be identical (.705-.777 and .609, respectively), and almost perfect for two identical grades (.991-1.000 and .991, respectively). Some differences in repeatability between breeds were noted; specifically, the intraobserver repeatability was higher in the dachshund, and the interobserver repeatability was lower in the Glen of Imaal Terrier. Our study showed that the radiographic imaging protocol and incongruity grading system have high repeatability when assessing elbow incongruity in chondrodystrophic dog breeds.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32141167/