The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2007;89:1710-1715.
doi:10.2106/JBJS.F.01263
© 2007 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.
Intraobserver and Interobserver Reliability of Two Ultrasound Measures of Humeral Head Position in Infants with Neonatal Brachial Plexus Palsy
Torpon Vathana, MD1,
Stace' Rust, MD2,
Janith Mills, PA-C3,
David Wilkes, MD3,
Richard Browne, PhD3,
Peter R. Carter, MD3 and
Marybeth Ezaki, MD3
1 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital,
Mahidol University, 2 Prannok Road, Bankoknoi, Bangkok 10700, Thailand
2 9150 Huebner Road, Suite 290, San Antonio, TX 78240
3 Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, 2222 Welborn Street, Dallas, TX
75219. E-mail address for M. Ezaki:
Marybeth.Ezaki{at}tsrh.org
Investigation performed at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children,
Dallas, Texas
Disclosure: The authors did not receive any outside funding or
grants in support of their research for or preparation of this work. Neither
they nor a member of their immediate families received payments or other
benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a
commercial entity. No commercial entity paid or directed, or agreed to pay or
direct, any benefits to any research fund, foundation, division, center,
clinical practice, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which
the authors, or a member of their immediate families, are affiliated or
associated.
Background: Ultrasonographic evaluation of the hip in infants is
considered both reliable and reproducible in the diagnosis of developmental
dysplasia of the hip. Ultrasonographic evaluation of the shoulder in infants
has been reported as a valuable diagnostic aid in dysplastic development
following neonatal brachial plexus palsy. To our knowledge, there has been no
study of the intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability of
sonography of the shoulder in infants with and without suspected posterior
shoulder dislocation.
Methods: Two identical but randomly ordered sets of the same
deidentified sonographic images of shoulders in infants were given to
radiologists, pediatric orthopaedists and orthopaedic residents, and fellows
with varying degrees of experience in the evaluation of shoulder pathology in
infants, who measured the position of the humeral head relative to the axis of
the scapula. Intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability of
the measurements were assessed.
Results: For the position of the humeral head with respect to the
glenoid in both normal and abnormal conditions, the Pearson correlation
coefficient for intraobserver reproducibility was 0.91 and the intraclass
correlation coefficient for interobserver reliability was 0.875. For
estimating the percentage of the humeral head posterior to the axis of the
scapula, the Pearson correlation was 0.85 and the intraclass correlation
coefficient was 0.77.
Conclusions: Ultrasonographic examination of the shoulder in infants
to assess for the position of the humeral head with respect to the scapula
showed high intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability. It is
recommended as a reliable technique for evaluating shoulder position in
infants with neonatal brachial plexus palsy.

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