Infertility: Inter-observer agreement in analysis of basal body temperature graphs from infertile women

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the reproducibility of analysis of basal body temperature graphs under optimized conditions for agreement. A total of 160 recordings were selected from spontaneous cycles of infertile women and analysed by three experienced clinicians using uniform criteria. Agreement at the various stages of analysis was assessed by the 'proportions of agreement' with 95% confidence intervals. Agreement in identification of the thermal nadir was clearly superior to that reported in previous publications. Reproducibility of 'ovulatory' graph features (i.e. biphasic graphs and adequate thermal shifts) was excellent. Agreement in classification of monophasic graphs and inadequate thermal shifts, although lower, was still good. Thus, with experienced observers and uniform criteria, a good agreement can be achieved in analysis of the most important parameters of the basal body temperature graph. We believe that an effort should be made to generalize the use of uniform analysis criteria, because only then can results from different institutions be compared and the remaining clinical evaluation of the method be performed.

Novel Technique for Confirmation of the Day of Ovulation and Prediction of Ovulation in Subsequent Cycles Using a Skin-Worn Sensor in a Population With Ovulatory Dysfunction: A Side-by-Side Comparison With Existing Basal Body Temperature Algorithm and Vaginal Core Body Temperature Algorithm

“…This would indicate SWS can be used effectively in a population with ovulatory dysfunction whether it is previously known or not. This is also a useful result given the drawbacks of BBT outlined by previous clinical literature (Lenton et al, 1977;Martinez et al, 1992;Ayres-de-Campos et al, 1995;Barron and Fehring, 2005;Mazerolle et al, 2011).…”

“…Their temperature curves are generally more erratic, increasing the difficulty of interpreting charts and hence confirming 1) the presence or absence of ovulation and 2) the day of ovulation. The difficulty in the use of the ovulation day for predicting ovulation and the fertile window for a subsequent cycle-goal 3)-is compounded by the irregularity of their ovulation timing and or cycles, which makes it considerably less likely that ovulation will re-occur on the same day in a subsequent cycle even if it could be established accurately in the first place (Ayres- de-Campos et al, 1995).…”

Basal Temperature Measurement Using a Multi-Sensor Armband in Australian Young Women: A Comparative Observational Study

“…This was achieved through charting and analyzing temperatures taken using the thermometer and BMSW, which was performed both visually as well as quantitatively using MTM [ 15 ]. Visual analysis was performed independently by 2 or 3 observers, blinded to group allocation, following the criteria outlined in Table 1 [ 16 ]. The level of agreement between two methods in detecting possible ovulation and interrater reliability were determined using Kappa statistics.…”

Offer of a bandage versus rigid immobilisation in 4- to 15-year-olds with distal radius torus fractures: the FORCE equivalence RCT

“…This took into account differences in the properties of the primary outcome by age, with the score tending to linearity in those ≥ 8 years old, but behaving non-linearly for those aged < 8 years. 26 Furthermore, there was a discontinuity within the secondary outcome instruments (i.e. self-reports for those in the older group and proxy reports for those in the younger group).…”