A STUDY OF INTER- AND INTRA-OBSERVER ERROR IN READING PLAIN ROENTGENOGRAMS OF THE HANDS

Abstract

A rheumatologist and 2 radiologists read 3 groups of 50 pairs of roentgenograms of patients' hands, one roentgenogram with and one without a comparator set of bones. The categories were: Group I—normal subjects; Group II—surgical patients; and Group III—rheumatoid arthritis patients. They were matched for age and sex. All readers had the same degree of observer error; comparator bones did not aid in the diagnosis of osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis; knowledge of the diagnosis influenced all observers' readings.