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A reliability study using computer-based analysis of finger joint space narrowing in rheumatoid arthritis patients

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Abstract

The joint space difference index (JSDI) is a newly developed radiographic index which can quantitatively assess joint space narrowing progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients by using an image subtraction method on a computer. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of this method by non-experts utilizing RA image evaluation. Four non-experts assessed JSDI for radiographic images of 510 metacarpophalangeal joints from 51 RA patients twice with an interval of more than 2 weeks. Two rheumatologists and one radiologist as well as the four non-experts examined the joints by using the Sharp–van der Heijde Scoring (SHS) method. The radiologist and four non-experts repeated the scoring with an interval of more than 2 weeks. We calculated intra-/inter-observer reliability using the intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for JSDI and SHS scoring, respectively. The intra-/inter-observer reliabilities for the computer-based method were almost perfect (inter-observer ICC, 0.966–0.983; intra-observer ICC, 0.954–0.996). Contrary to this, intra-/inter-observer reliability for SHS by experts was moderate to almost perfect (inter-observer ICC, 0.556–0.849; intra-observer ICC, 0.589–0.839). The results suggest that our computer-based method has high reliability to detect finger joint space narrowing progression in RA patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, North-12 West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo City, 060 0812, Japan

    Katsuya Hatano & Shota Ichikawa

  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, North-12 West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo City, 060 0812, Japan

    Tamotsu Kamishima

  3. Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, N15 W7, Kita-ku, Sapporo City, 060-0815, Japan

    Kenneth Sutherland

  4. Division of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, N15 W7, Kita-ku, Sapporo City, 060-0815, Japan

    Masaru Kato & Ikuma Nakagawa

  5. Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, North-12 West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo City, 060 0812, Japan

    Keisuke Kawauchi & Shota Saitou

  6. Division of Rheumatology and Hematology, Department of Medicine, Sapporo City General Hospital, 1-1, Nishi13-chome, Kita11jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo City, 060-8604, Japan

    Masaya Mukai

Authors
  1. Katsuya Hatano
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  2. Tamotsu Kamishima
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  3. Kenneth Sutherland
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  4. Masaru Kato
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  5. Ikuma Nakagawa
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  6. Shota Ichikawa
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  7. Keisuke Kawauchi
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  8. Shota Saitou
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  9. Masaya Mukai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tamotsu Kamishima.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Hatano, K., Kamishima, T., Sutherland, K. et al. A reliability study using computer-based analysis of finger joint space narrowing in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Rheumatol Int 37, 189–195 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-016-3588-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-016-3588-y

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