Effect of osteoarthritis on the repeatability of patella tendon angle measurement in dogs

Abstract

Direction of travel may influence gait characteristics and thereby both determination of local reference intervals and discriminatory ability between normal and abnormal limbs. Consistent walkway room setup and use of multiple passes in both directions appear sensible in order to minimise error between measurements at different times, and to compensate for the effect of direction of travel on outcome measures. Effect of osteoarthritis OBJECTIVESTo evaluate the effect of the degree of osteoarthritis on the measurement of patella tendon angle (PTA) and determine intra-and inter-observer variability. METHODSRetrospective observational clinical study using preoperative medio-lateral surgical planning radiographs for tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA). Degree of osteoarthritis scored by two individuals. Measurement of PTA performed by three different individuals on 87 stifle radiographs by the standard conventional tibial plateau method. Measurement of PTA performed on three occasions, with at least seven days between measurements. RESULTSThe osteoarthritis score agreement was 48%. Weighted Kappa analysis revealed a fair strength of agreement between observers. The intra-observer average bias between PTA measurements 1 and 3 ranged from −0.38 to −0.94°. Inter-observer bias in angle measurement ranged from −0.92 to −2.00°. Observer 1 had the narrowest range of PTA differences (12.1°), and observer 3 the highest (23.5°). Observer 2 had the lowest mean bias (−0.38°). The mean bias was lowest between observers 1 & 2 (−0.92°) and highest between 1 & 3 (−2.0°). The mean intra-observer standard deviation of the PTA measurement differences was 2.90° and inter-observer was 2.26°. Kruskal-Wallis testing revealed no evidence of a difference in PTA with regards to degree of osteoarthritis present. There was no evidence of a change in variability of the PTA with higher or lower osteoarthritis scores. STATEMENT (CONCLUSIONS)Overall degree of osteoarthritis did not appear to affect the variability of the patellar tendon angle measured. Variability in PTA measured between observers may affect the clinical outcome of surgery.Medio-lateral humeral intracondylar fissure screw placement -4.5 mm titanium screws Guy BeynonFitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, United Kingdom OBJECTIVESEvaluating the influence of categorical patient variables on the time elapsed from the surgical date and date of the final recheck following treatment of humeral intracondylar fissure in dogs with medio-lateral placement of 4.5 mm titanium screws. METHODSRetrospective data analysis was applied to 100 dogs treated for humeral intracondylar fissure. The breed, sex, age, weight, date of surgery and date of final recheck were reviewed. RESULTSThirty eight of the study group diagnosed with a humeral intracondylar fissure were treated with a 4.5 mm titanium screw placed in a medio-lateral direction. The mean duration of time between the surgical date and final recheck was 69 days. Six of the cases required revision surgery due to inadequate screw placement. Five case...

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Evaluation of computer-aided design software methods for assessment of the three-dimensional geometry of the canine radius

“…In a study 45 in which 14 femoral and tibial angular measurements were obtained from radiographic images to evaluate hind limb alignment in 12 Chihuahuas, the repeatability of those measurements ranged from 1.76° to 4.33° (median repeatability for all measurements, 3.90°), and the reproducibility (ie, interobserver variability) ranged from 2.74° to 8.57° (median, 5.56°). In a study 46 in which the patellar ligament angle was measured on radiographic images for 87 dogs, the within-and between-observer repeatability for 3 observers ranged from 5.29° to 5.53°, and reproducibility (ie, SD of measurements among observers) ranged from 5.16° to 5.31°. In a study 47 conducted to evaluate the accuracy of 3 radiographic views for measurement of the hip-knee angle in 50 human subjects, the mean bias calculated from supplementary data was -0.64°, -0.03°, and 0.83°, and the within-subject repeatability was 0.17°, 0.27°, and 0.53° for the respective views.…”