scholarly journals Structured Reporting of Lung Cancer Staging: A Consensus Proposal

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1569
Author(s):  
Vincenza Granata ◽  
Roberto Grassi ◽  
Vittorio Miele ◽  
Anna Rita Larici ◽  
Nicola Sverzellati ◽  
...  

Background: Structured reporting (SR) in radiology is becoming necessary and has recently been recognized by major scientific societies. This study aimed to build CT-based structured reports for lung cancer during the staging phase, in order to improve communication between radiologists, members of the multidisciplinary team and patients. Materials and Methods: A panel of expert radiologists, members of the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology, was established. A modified Delphi exercise was used to build the structural report and to assess the level of agreement for all the report sections. The Cronbach’s alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was used to assess internal consistency for each section and to perform a quality analysis according to the average inter-item correlation. Results: The final SR version was built by including 16 items in the “Patient Clinical Data” section, 4 items in the “Clinical Evaluation” section, 8 items in the “Exam Technique” section, 22 items in the “Report” section, and 5 items in the “Conclusion” section. Overall, 55 items were included in the final version of the SR. The overall mean of the scores of the experts and the sum of scores for the structured report were 4.5 (range 1–5) and 631 (mean value 67.54, STD 7.53), respectively, in the first round. The items of the structured report with higher accordance in the first round were primary lesion features, lymph nodes, metastasis and conclusions. The overall mean of the scores of the experts and the sum of scores for staging in the structured report were 4.7 (range 4–5) and 807 (mean value 70.11, STD 4.81), respectively, in the second round. The Cronbach’s alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was 0.89 in the first round and 0.92 in the second round for staging in the structured report. Conclusions: The wide implementation of SR is critical for providing referring physicians and patients with the best quality of service, and for providing researchers with the best quality of data in the context of the big data exploitation of the available clinical data. Implementation is complex, requiring mature technology to successfully address pending user-friendliness, organizational and interoperability challenges.

Author(s):  
Vincenza Granata ◽  
Lorenzo Faggioni ◽  
Roberta Grassi ◽  
Roberta Fusco ◽  
Alfonso Reginelli ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Structured reporting (SR) in radiology is becoming increasingly necessary and has been recognized recently by major scientific societies. This study aims to build structured CT-based reports in colon cancer during the staging phase in order to improve communication between the radiologist, members of multidisciplinary teams and patients. Materials and methods A panel of expert radiologists, members of the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology, was established. A modified Delphi process was used to develop the SR and to assess a level of agreement for all report sections. Cronbach’s alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was used to assess internal consistency for each section and to measure quality analysis according to the average inter-item correlation. Results The final SR version was built by including n = 18 items in the “Patient Clinical Data” section, n = 7 items in the “Clinical Evaluation” section, n = 9 items in the “Imaging Protocol” section and n = 29 items in the “Report” section. Overall, 63 items were included in the final version of the SR. Both in the first and second round, all sections received a higher than good rating: a mean value of 4.6 and range 3.6–4.9 in the first round; a mean value of 5.0 and range 4.9–5 in the second round. In the first round, Cronbach’s alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was a questionable 0.61. In the first round, the overall mean score of the experts and the sum of scores for the structured report were 4.6 (range 1–5) and 1111 (mean value 74.07, STD 4.85), respectively. In the second round, Cronbach’s alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was an acceptable 0.70. In the second round, the overall mean score of the experts and the sum of score for structured report were 4.9 (range 4–5) and 1108 (mean value 79.14, STD 1.83), respectively. The overall mean score obtained by the experts in the second round was higher than the overall mean score of the first round, with a lower standard deviation value to underline greater agreement among the experts for the structured report reached in this round. Conclusions A wide implementation of SR is of critical importance in order to offer referring physicians and patients optimum quality of service and to provide researchers with the best quality data in the context of big data exploitation of available clinical data. Implementation is a complex procedure, requiring mature technology to successfully address the multiple challenges of user-friendliness, organization and interoperability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenza Granata ◽  
Francesca Coppola ◽  
Roberta Grassi ◽  
Roberta Fusco ◽  
Salvatore Tafuto ◽  
...  

BackgroundStructured reporting (SR) in radiology is becoming increasingly necessary and has been recognized recently by major scientific societies. This study aims to build structured CT-based reports in Neuroendocrine Neoplasms during the staging phase in order to improve communication between the radiologist and members of multidisciplinary teams.Materials and MethodsA panel of expert radiologists, members of the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology, was established. A Modified Delphi process was used to develop the SR and to assess a level of agreement for all report sections. Cronbach’s alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was used to assess internal consistency for each section and to measure quality analysis according to the average inter-item correlation.ResultsThe final SR version was built by including n=16 items in the “Patient Clinical Data” section, n=13 items in the “Clinical Evaluation” section, n=8 items in the “Imaging Protocol” section, and n=17 items in the “Report” section. Overall, 54 items were included in the final version of the SR. Both in the first and second round, all sections received more than a good rating: a mean value of 4.7 and range of 4.2-5.0 in the first round and a mean value 4.9 and range of 4.9-5 in the second round. In the first round, the Cα correlation coefficient was a poor 0.57: the overall mean score of the experts and the sum of scores for the structured report were 4.7 (range 1-5) and 728 (mean value 52.00 and standard deviation 2.83), respectively. In the second round, the Cα correlation coefficient was a good 0.82: the overall mean score of the experts and the sum of scores for the structured report were 4.9 (range 4-5) and 760 (mean value 54.29 and standard deviation 1.64), respectively.ConclusionsThe present SR, based on a multi-round consensus-building Delphi exercise following in-depth discussion between expert radiologists in gastro-enteric and oncological imaging, derived from a multidisciplinary agreement between a radiologist, medical oncologist and surgeon in order to obtain the most appropriate communication tool for referring physicians.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Hedström ◽  
Mia Johansson ◽  
Caroline Olsson ◽  
Lisa Tuomi ◽  
Caterina Finizia

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to adapt the instrument and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Swallowing Quality of Care questionnaire (S-SWAL-CARE) in patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia. Methods Translation and adaptation of the original SWAL-CARE into Swedish was performed according to established international guidelines. Field testing was performed using 100 patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia due to multiple reasons such as head and neck cancer and neurologic/neuromuscular disease, who had undergone swallowing evaluation within 6 months prior to the study. The patients answered the S-SWAL-CARE, the Quality from the Patient’s Perspective (QPP) and the Swallowing Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL). Test–retest was performed in 20% of the participants. The reliability and validity of the S-SWAL-CARE were assessed by Pearson correlation coefficient and Cronbach’s alpha as well as convergent and discriminative validity, respectively. Results The field testing of the S-SWAL-CARE resulted in sufficient reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha values exceeding 0.90 for all domains. All items correlated strongly to their own domain, with weaker correlations to the other domains, indicating proper scale structure. Results also indicate sufficient convergent and discriminant validity when tested for association to the QPP domains and the SWAL-QOL Total score. The test–retest reliability of the S-SWAL-CARE demonstrated sufficient intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the General advice domain (0.73) and Clinical advice domain (0.82). The ICC for the Patient satisfaction domain was lower (0.44). Conclusion The S-SWAL-CARE can be considered a reliable and valid tool to assess the dysphagia-related quality of care in a mixed Swedish dysphagia patient population.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Palazón-Bru ◽  
María Isabel Tomás-Rodríguez ◽  
Emma Mares-García ◽  
Vicente Francisco Gil-Guillén

Background: A reliability generalization study of a questionnaire is necessary to provide higher-level evidence for its reliability. This has not been performed for the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment–Achilles tendinopathy (VISA-A) questionnaire. The VISA-A has been a commonly used questionnaire to evaluate the symptoms of Achilles tendon disorders and their impact on physical activity, one of the most common disorders among athletes and sports persons (9%-40%). Furthermore, this questionnaire has been translated to several languages and due to its simplicity is one of the most widely used questionnaires for patients with this type of disorder. Therefore, we performed a reliability generalization study of the VISA-A using MEDLINE (through PubMed) and Scopus as data sources. Methods: We selected studies that analyzed the reliability of the VISA-A by evaluating Cronbach’s alpha, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and the Spearman correlation coefficients to compare VISA-A with similar scales. The data were analyzed using fixed- and random-effects models. We assessed sensitivity through the leave-one-out method. Quality analysis was performed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Results: Of a total of 263 studies (eliminating duplicates), 7 fulfilled inclusion criteria. The mean reliability was (1) Cronbach’s alpha, 0.75 (95% CI, 0.70-0.79); (2) ICC, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.82-0.96); (3) correlation coefficient with the Curwin and Stanish grading system, –0.82 (95% CI, −0.93 to −0.56); and (4) correlation coefficient with the Percy and Conochie classification, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.87-0.93). We were unable to perform the funnel plot analysis and estimate meta-regression models. The Spearman correlation coefficients for both comparative scales showed influential studies (sensitivity analysis). Conclusion: Internal consistency and reproducibility were found to be good, but the parallel-forms reliability could not be supported. Therefore, more scientific evidence is needed to generalize the reliability of the VISA-A. Level of Evidence: Level I, meta-analysis of literature.


Author(s):  
Milan Nešić ◽  
Romana Romanov ◽  
Tatjana Jezdimirović ◽  
Josip Lepeš ◽  
Slobodan Andrašić

In order to determine the metric characteristics of the scale intended for the assessment of the quality of life of persons with lumbar syndrome (PQL-LS) on a sample of 202 subjects (M = 93; F = 109), three procedures for checking its metric characteristics were applied: factor analysis (Principal Components Analysis) with the Direct Oblimin method, in order to identify the latent structure of the perception of the quality of life of the respondents; Scale Reliability Analysis based on Cronbach’s alpha coefficient; and a validation check based on the coefficient of internal correlation of the scale (Spearman’s correlation of rank - rho). The results show that the scale has good metric characteristics and that it has a multi-item character (twenty-seven indicators). The internal accordance of the scale is in the high reference range of the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.947). The values of correlation coefficient of subscale scores: physical health, mental health, social relations and environment show a high degree of correlation with the overall mean value of the entire scale, which confirms the validity of the analyzed domains (subscale) and the scale as a whole (at the level of significance r <0.001). All 27 variables yielded the corresponding weight of the single extracted component (KMO = 0.901; Sig. = 0.000), which determined that the scale had adequate validity. Based on the identified good metric characteristics, this scale can be recommended for use as a unique/autonomous multi-item scale designed to assess the quality of life of adults with lumbar syndrome.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Brañes ◽  
Maximiliano Barahona ◽  
Sebastian Carvajal ◽  
Rodrigo Wulf ◽  
Cristian Barrientos

Abstract Purpose Currently, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are the standard instruments used to compare arthroplasty results. Goodman et al. recently published a well-constructed scale with excellent psychometric properties that can be quickly administered. The main objective of our study was to translate, culturally adapt, and validate a Spanish version of the Goodman questionnaire in patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA). MethodsThe original Goodman scale was translated into Spanish and cross-culturally adapted. Then, the data from this version were tested for psychometric quality. We designed a cross-sectional study for data collection. This study enrolled 2 institutions. Patients who underwent hip replacement due to primary osteoarthritis secondary to dysplasia between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2019 were included. A total of 153 patients were contacted twice to record the Goodman and Oxford hip scales (OHS) to assess the validity of the questionnaire. Reliability was tested using the Cronbach’s alpha, Concordance using 3 test: intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), and the Bradley-Blackwood F test. The spearman correlation was used to asses correltion between the OHS and the Spanish-adapted Goodman scale. ResultsThe overall satisfaction after THA was reported to be "very satisfied" by 137 patients (75%), and only 14 patients reported some degree of dissatisfaction (6%). The improvement in quality of life was reported to be "more than I ever dreamed possible" by 41% patients. Cronbach’s alpha was acceptable, reaching a coefficient of 0.95 (95% confidence interval, 0.82–1). No statistical difference (t-test, p = 0.55) was found in the original version, with great internal validity. Test re-test concordance was optimal among the 3 tests used. A moderate correlation was found between the OHS and the Spanish-adapted Goodman scale.ConclusionThe Spanish version of the Goodman questionnaire in THA is a reliable, consistent, and feasible scale to evaluate patient satisfaction and improvement in the quality of life in Spanish speakers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 4007
Author(s):  
Vincenza Granata ◽  
Silvia Pradella ◽  
Diletta Cozzi ◽  
Roberta Fusco ◽  
Lorenzo Faggioni ◽  
...  

Structured reporting (SR) in radiology is becoming increasingly necessary and has been recognized recently by major scientific societies. This study aims to build structured CT-based reports for lymphoma patients during the staging phase to improve communication between radiologists, members of multidisciplinary teams, and patients. A panel of expert radiologists, members of the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology (SIRM), was established. A modified Delphi process was used to develop the SR and to assess a level of agreement for all report sections. The Cronbach’s alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was used to assess internal consistency for each section and to measure quality analysis according to the average inter-item correlation. The final SR version was divided into four sections: (a) Patient Clinical Data, (b) Clinical Evaluation, (c) Imaging Protocol, and (d) Report, including n = 13 items in the “Patient Clinical Data” section, n = 8 items in the “Clinical Evaluation” section, n = 9 items in the “Imaging Protocol” section, and n = 32 items in the “Report” section. Overall, 62 items were included in the final version of the SR. A dedicated section of significant images was added as part of the report. In the first Delphi round, all sections received more than a good rating (≥3). The overall mean score of the experts and the sum of score for structured report were 4.4 (range 1–5) and 1524 (mean value of 101.6 and standard deviation of 11.8). The Cα correlation coefficient was 0.89 in the first round. In the second Delphi round, all sections received more than an excellent rating (≥4). The overall mean score of the experts and the sum of scores for structured report were 4.9 (range 3–5) and 1694 (mean value of 112.9 and standard deviation of 4.0). The Cα correlation coefficient was 0.87 in this round. The highest overall means value, highest sum of scores of the panelists, and smallest standard deviation values of the evaluations in this round reflect the increase of the internal consistency and agreement among experts in the second round compared to first round. The accurate statement of imaging data given to referring physicians is critical for patient care; the information contained affects both the decision-making process and the subsequent treatment. The radiology report is the most important source of clinical imaging information. It conveys critical information about the patient’s health and the radiologist’s interpretation of medical findings. It also communicates information to the referring physicians and records this information for future clinical and research use. The present SR was generated based on a multi-round consensus-building Delphi exercise and uses standardized terminology and structures, in order to adhere to diagnostic/therapeutic recommendations and facilitate enrolment in clinical trials, to reduce any ambiguity that may arise from non-conventional language, and to enable better communication between radiologists and clinicians.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julián Brañes ◽  
Maximiliano Barahona ◽  
Sebastián Carvajal ◽  
Rodrigo Wulf ◽  
Cristián Barrientos

Abstract Purpose Currently, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are the standard instruments used to compare arthroplasty results. Goodman et al. recently published a well-constructed scale with excellent psychometric properties that can be quickly administered. The main objective of our study was to translate, culturally adapt, and validate a Spanish version of the Goodman questionnaire in patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA). Methods The original Goodman scale was translated into Spanish and cross-culturally adapted. Then, the data from this version were tested for psychometric quality. We designed a cross-sectional study for data collection. This study enrolled 2 institutions. Patients who underwent hip replacement due to primary osteoarthritis secondary to dysplasia between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2019 were included. A total of 153 patients were contacted twice to record the Goodman and Oxford hip scales (OHS) to assess the validity of the questionnaire. Reliability was tested using the Cronbach’s alpha, Concordance using 3 test: intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), and the Bradley-Blackwood F test. The spearman correlation was used to asses correlation between the OHS and the Spanish-adapted Goodman scale. Results The overall satisfaction after THA was reported to be “very satisfied” by 137 patients (75%), and only 14 patients reported some degree of dissatisfaction (6%). The improvement in quality of life was reported to be “more than I ever dreamed possible” by 41% patients. Cronbach’s alpha was acceptable, reaching a coefficient of 0.95 (95% confidence interval, 0.82–1). No statistical difference (t test, p = 0.55) was found in the original version, with great internal validity. Test re-test concordance was optimal among the 3 tests used. A moderate correlation was found between the OHS and the Spanish-adapted Goodman scale. Conclusion The Spanish version of the Goodman questionnaire in THA is a reliable, consistent, and feasible scale to evaluate patient satisfaction and improvement in the quality of life in Spanish speakers.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2135
Author(s):  
Vincenza Granata ◽  
Damiano Caruso ◽  
Roberto Grassi ◽  
Salvatore Cappabianca ◽  
Alfonso Reginelli ◽  
...  

Background: Structured reporting (SR) in oncologic imaging is becoming necessary and has recently been recognized by major scientific societies. The aim of this study was to build MRI-based structured reports for rectal cancer (RC) staging and restaging in order to provide clinicians all critical tumor information. Materials and Methods: A panel of radiologist experts in abdominal imaging, called the members of the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology, was established. The modified Delphi process was used to build the SR and to assess the level of agreement in all sections. The Cronbach’s alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was used to assess the internal consistency of each section and to measure the quality analysis according to the average inter-item correlation. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was also evaluated. Results: After the second Delphi round of the SR RC staging, the panelists’ single scores and sum of scores were 3.8 (range 2–4) and 169, and the SR RC restaging panelists’ single scores and sum of scores were 3.7 (range 2–4) and 148, respectively. The Cα correlation coefficient was 0.79 for SR staging and 0.81 for SR restaging. The ICCs for the SR RC staging and restaging were 0.78 (p < 0.01) and 0.82 (p < 0.01), respectively. The final SR version was built and included 53 items for RC staging and 50 items for RC restaging. Conclusions: The final version of the structured reports of MRI-based RC staging and restaging should be a helpful and promising tool for clinicians in managing cancer patients properly. Structured reports collect all Patient Clinical Data, Clinical Evaluations and relevant key findings of Rectal Cancer, both in staging and restaging, and can facilitate clinical decision-making.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Peters ◽  
Petra Kolip ◽  
Rainhild Schäfers

Abstract Background Home postpartum care is a major part of midwifery care in Germany. The user perspective plays an increasingly important role in the evaluation of health services, but there is a lack of valid and theoretically based measuring instruments, especially in midwifery care. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an instrument for measuring quality of midwifery care in the postpartum period from the perspective of women. Methods The following steps were taken to achieve this: (1) definition of the goals of midwifery work; (2) literature-based item development; (3) item selection based on a pre-test (n = 16); (4) item reduction and investigation of factor structure by means of explorative factor analysis (EFA; n = 133);(5) second EFA (n = 741) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 744) based on a split representative sample survey; (6) hypothesis-based testing of correlations to sociodemographic characteristics of women and to characteristics of care. Results Measurement of Midwifery quality postpartum (MMAYpostpartum) consists of three scales with a total of 17 items which were found to have acceptable internal consistency: Personal Control (Cronbach’s alpha = .80), Trusting Relationship (Cronbach’s alpha = .87) and Orientation and Security (Cronbach’s alpha = .78). CFA verified and confirmed three factors: CFI = .928, TLI = .914, RMSEA = 0.073. Conclusion MMAYpostpartum is a predominantly valid, reliable short tool for evaluating the quality of midwifery care postpartum. It can be used to evaluate midwifery care, to compare different care models and in intervention research. It thus supports the orientation of midwives’ work towards the needs of women and their families.


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