Intraobserver agreement among endosonographers for endoscopic ultrasound features of chronic pancreatitis: a blinded...

Assess intraobserver agreement among endosonographers for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) features of chronic pancreatitis (CP).

Thirty EUS images from patients with suspected CP were shown twice in random order to 5 blinded endosonographers. The following accepted features of CP were assessed: (1) hyperechoic foci, (2) hyperechoic strands, (3) lobularity, (4) cysts, (5) stones, (6) main pancreatic duct dilatation, (7) pancreatic duct irregularity, (8) hyperechoic duct margins, (9) visible side branches, and (10) overall assessment for CP. Intraobserver κ statistics were calculated for each endosonographer and for each feature. Interobserver κ was also calculated.

The mean intraobserver κ values were 0.82, 0.65, 0.71, 0.59, and 0.86 for the 5 endosonographers. The mean intraobserver κ values for each feature were (1) 0.66, (2) 0.67, (3) 0.70, (4) not calculable, (5) 0.96, (6) 0.81, (7) 0.77, (8) 0.69, (9) 0.51, and (10) 0.73. The mean interobserver κ values were 0.19, 0.07, 0.53, not calculable, 0.77, 0.77, 0.60, 0.34, 0.11, and 0.39, respectively.

There was good intraobserver agreement in the interpretation of EUS features of CP. The intraobserver agreement seems better than the published interobserver agreement for EUS features of CP and better than the published intraobserver agreement for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography imaging for CP.