Visual and Automated CT Measurements of Lung Volume Loss in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Members of the Fleischner Society compiled a glossary of terms for thoracic imaging that replaces previous glossaries published in 1984 and 1996 for thoracic radiography and computed tomography (CT), respectively. The need to update the previous versions came from the recognition that new words have emerged, others have become obsolete, and the meaning of some terms has changed. Brief descriptions of some diseases are included, and pictorial examples (chest radiographs and CT scans) are provided for the majority of terms. (c) RSNA, 2008.

Many research designs require the assessment of inter-rater reliability (IRR) to demonstrate consistency among observational ratings provided by multiple coders. However, many studies use incorrect statistical procedures, fail to fully report the information necessary to interpret their results, or do not address how IRR affects the power of their subsequent analyses for hypothesis testing. This paper provides an overview of methodological issues related to the assessment of IRR with a focus on study design, selection of appropriate statistics, and the computation, interpretation, and reporting of some commonly-used IRR statistics. Computational examples include SPSS and R syntax for computing Cohen's kappa and intra-class correlations to assess IRR.