Inter-rater reliability of sonographic measurements of the inferior vena cava.
journal contribution
posted on 2013-09-12, 00:00 authored by Turandot Saul, Resa E. Lewiss, Alexis Langsfeld, Michael S. Radeos, Marina Del RiosBackground: Bedside ultrasound is emerging as a useful tool in the assessment of intravascular volume status by examining measurements of the inferior vena cava (IVC). Many previous studies do not fully describe their scanning protocol.
Objectives: The objective of our study is to evaluate which of three commonly reported IVC scanning methods demonstrates the best inter-rater reliability.
Methods: Three physicians visualized the IVC in the three planes and utilized M-mode to measure the maximal and minimal diameter during quiet respiration. Pair-wise correlation coefficients were determined using Pearson Product Moment Correlation.
Results: The most reliable pair of measurements (inspiratory and expiratory) was using the anterior mid-axillary line longitudinal view with a Kappa value for both at 0.692.
Conclusion: Imaging with the anterior mid-axillary longitudinal approach using the liver as an acoustic window provides the best inter-rater reliability in measurements of the IVC. Likewise, our findings demonstrate that IVC measurements differ based on anatomic location.