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A modified Vancouver Scar Scale linked with TBSA (mVSS-TBSA): Inter-rater reliability of an innovative burn scar
T U Gankande1, F M Wood, D W Edgar
1Burns Injury Research Unit, School of Surgery, The University of Western Australia, Australia. ugankande@meddent.uwa.edu.au
Background:
Current scar assessment methods do not capture variation in scar outcome across the burn scar surface area. A new method (mVSS-TBSA) using a modified Vancouver Scar Scale (mVSS) linked with %TBSA was devised and inter-rater reliability was assessed.
Method:
Three raters performed scar assessments on thirty patients with burn scars using the mVSS-TBSA. Scoring on pigmentation, vascularity, pliability and height was undertaken for the 'best' and 'worst' areas of each scar. Raters allocated the total body surface area of the scar (%TBSA) to three mVSS categories (<5, 5-10, >10). Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and weighted kappa statistic (kw) were used to assess inter-rater reliability. The data were also analysed for clinically relevant misclassifications between pairs of raters.
Results:
Total mVSS scores showed 'fair to good' agreement (ICC 0.65-0.73) in the 'best' area of the scar while there was 'excellent' agreement in the 'worst' scar area (ICC 0.85-0.88). The kw of the individual mVSS components ranged from 0.44 to 0.84 and 0.02 to 0.86 for 'best' and 'worst' scar areas, respectively. Determination of scar %TBSA had 'excellent' reliability (ICC 0.91-0.96). Allocation of scar %TBSA to severity category <5 mVSS demonstrated 'good to excellent' reliability (ICC 0.63-0.80) and 'fair to good' reliability (ICC 0.42-0.74) for 5-10 mVSS category. However, misclassifications were observed for the total mVSS score in the 'worst' scar area and the allocation of scar %TBSA in the <5 mVSS category.
Conclusion:
Inter-rater reliability of mVSS scores depends on the severity of the scar area being assessed. The mVSS-TBSA method of allocation of scar %TBSA to two broad mVSS categories, namely <5 and ≥5 mVSS, has 'good to excellent' reliability. The mVSS-TBSA has demonstrated utility for both clinical and research purposes; however, there is potential to misclassify scar outcome in some cases.
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