Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31089847›Full record

ArticleEuropean radiology2019

Intra- and inter-operator reproducibility of US point shear-wave elastography in various organs: evaluation in phantoms and healthy volunteers.

Riwa Kishimoto, Katsuhiko Kikuchi, Atsuhisa Koyama, Jeff Kershaw, Tokuhiko Omatsu, Yasuhiko Tachibana, Mikio Suga, Takayuki Obata

Abstract readEvaluation Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European radiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Riwa KishimotoNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan. kishimoto.riwa@qst.go.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0232-3631
Katsuhiko KikuchiNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
Atsuhisa KoyamaCenter for Frontier Medical Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-chou, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan.
Jeff KershawNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
Tokuhiko OmatsuNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
Yasuhiko TachibanaNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
Mikio SugaCenter for Frontier Medical Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-chou, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan.
Takayuki ObataNational Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis study was conducted in order to assess the intra- and interoperator reproducibility of shear-wave speed (SWS) measurement on elasticity phantoms and healthy volunteers using ultrasound-based point shear-wave elastography. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis study was approved by the institutional review board. Two operators measured the SWS of five elasticity phantoms and seven organs (thyroid, lymph node, muscle, spleen, kidney, pancreas, and liver) of 30 healthy volunteers with 1.0-4.5 MHz convex (4C1) and 4.0-9.0 MHz linear (9L4) transducers. The phantom measurements were repeated ten times, while the volunteer measurements were performed five times each. Intra- and interoperator reproducibility was assessed. Interoperator reproducibility was also evaluated with the 95% Bland-Altman limits of agreement (LOA).

resultsIn phantoms, all intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were above 0.90 and the 95% LOA between the two operators were less than ± 18%. In volunteers, intraoperator ICCs were > 0.75 for all regions except the pancreas. Interoperator ICC was above 0.75 for the right lobe of the liver (depth 4 cm) and the kidney, but the 95% LOA was less than ± 25% only for the liver.

conclusionAlthough excellent in phantoms, interoperator reproducibility was insufficient for all regions in the volunteers other than the right hepatic lobe at a depth of 4 cm. Clinicians should be aware of the 95% LOA when using SWS in patients. KEY POINTS: • Our phantom study indicated a high reproducibility for shear-wave speed (SWS) measurements with point shear-wave elastography (pSWE). • In volunteers, intraoperator reproducibility was generally high, but the interoperator reproducibility was not high enough except for the right hepatic lobe at 4 cm depth. • To evaluate interoperator reproducibility, the 95% limits of agreement (LOA) between operators should be considered in addition to the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Indexed as

AdultElasticityElasticity Imaging TechniquesFemaleHealthy VolunteersHumansKidneyLiverLymph NodesMaleMiddle AgedMuscle, SkeletalObserver VariationPancreasPhantoms, ImagingProspective StudiesElasticity imaging techniquesObserver variationReproducibility of resultsUltrasonography

Identifiers

PMID31089847
PMCPMC6795636

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.