They rated each fsMR image according to 5 visibility parameters: 1) ventricle size, 2) ventricle configuration, 3) presence or absence of transependymal flow, 4) presence or absence of motion artifact, and 5) visualization of the ventricular catheter. Each parameter was graded as 1 (present) or
0 (absent). Thus, the maximum value assigned to each scan could be 5 and the minimum value assigned to each scan could be 0. Interrater reliability between pairs of observers was calculated using the Kendall’s tau-b and intraclass coefficients.
Results. Two hundred patients underwent fsMRI. No child required sedation. The NF-��B inhibitor average duration of examinations was approximately 3.37 minutes, and mean age of the patients was 5.7 years. Clinically useful images were attained in all cases. Overall quality of the fsMRI studies based on the 5 different visibility parameters showed that 169 images (84.5%)
included 4 or 5 parameters (score 4) and had statistically significant excellent quality. The Kendall’s tau-b for the overall fsMRI ratings was 0.82 (p = 0.002) and the intraclass coefficient was 0.87 (p <0.0001).
Conclusions. In the present cohort of 200 patients, fsMRI studies were shown to have an excellent overall quality and a statistically significant high ITF2357 molecular weight degree of interrater reliability. Consequently, the authors propose that fsMRI is a sufficiently effective modality that eliminates Bcr-Abl inhibitor the need for sedation and the use of ionizing radiation and that it should supplant CT for routine surveillance imaging in hydrocephalic patients.”
“OBJECTIVE: Most data regarding conditions associated with or contributing to stillbirth are derived from fetal death certificates. Our purposes were to compare stillbirth data recorded in vital statistics with those in the medical record and to investigate whether diagnostic evaluations differed in tertiary care and community hospitals.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, fetal death certificate data identified individuals
with stillbirths delivering in eight Salt Lake City hospitals from 1998 to 2002. Medical records were reviewed to assess demographics, diagnostic evaluation, and potential causes of stillbirth. Data were compared between death certificates and the medical record by calculation of the kappa coefficient for categorical variables or Kendall’s tau-b coefficients based on the number of concordant and discordant pairs of observations for continuous variables. Diagnostic tests completed were compared between community and tertiary care hospitals with chi(2) or Fisher exact test.
RESULTS: Five-hundred fifty-six individuals were identified, and 461 (83%) charts were available for review. Correlation between death certificates and the medical record was nearly perfect for demographic variables (correlation 0.8-0.9) but slight to moderate (correlation 0.2-0.5) for contributing or etiologic factors.