Affiliations: [a] Department of Orthopedics, Pediatric Orthopedics and Traumatology, The Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education in Warsaw, Otwock, Poland | [b] Department of Physiotherapy, Józef Rusiecki University College, Olsztyn, Poland | [c] Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Dariusz Czaprowski, Department of Physiotherapy, Józef Rusiecki University College, Bydgoska 33, 10-243 Olsztyn, Poland. Tel.: +48 895260400; Fax: +48 895260400; E-mail:dariusz.czaprowski@interia.pl
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Electronic rulers on computer screen are used to
measure the Cobb angle (CA) instead of traditional methods with rulers,
protractors and pens. The variety of software used to assess radiographs
might make the CA measurements cumbersome in everyday clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to verify the method of CA
measurements on digital radiographs using Bunnell scoliometer (BS). METHODS: Eighty patients with idiopathic scoliosis were enrolled
into the study. CA of each curve was measured by use of Centricity software
and BS. CA on 30 randomly chosen patients were measured 3 times by one
researcher using only scoliometer. Three researchers measured CA on the same
30 radiographs using BS. RESULTS: The mean CA of 224 curves measured by Centricity and BS
were 29° ± 12.2° and 28° ± 11.7°, respectively. The
ICC for agreement for 2 methods was 0.96 with SEM of 1.7°. Excellent
intra- and interobserver reliability of CA measurements with scoliometer was
noted: ICC of 0.96 with SEM of 1.4° and ICC of 0.93 with SEM of 1.9°,
respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed excellent reliability of CA
measurements on digital radiographs using the BS. The proposed method of
using the Bunnell scoliometer for CA measurements may be clinically useful.
