Objective: This study evaluated the performance of a standardized grading system for scleritis using standard digital photographs.
Design: Cross-sectional interobserver agreement study.
Participants: Photo archives from the National Eye Institute.
Methods: Three uveitis specialists from 3 different centers graded 79 randomly arranged images of the sclera with various degrees of inflammation. Grading was done using standard screen resolution (1024 768 pixels) on a 0 to 4 scale in 2 sessions: (1) without using reference photographs and (2) with reference to a set of standard photographs (proposed grading system). The graders were masked to the order of images, and the order of images was randomized. Interobserver agreement in grading the severity of inflammation with and without the use of grading system was evaluated.
Design: Cross-sectional interobserver agreement study.
Participants: Photo archives from the National Eye Institute.
Methods: Three uveitis specialists from 3 different centers graded 79 randomly arranged images of the sclera with various degrees of inflammation. Grading was done using standard screen resolution (1024 768 pixels) on a 0 to 4 scale in 2 sessions: (1) without using reference photographs and (2) with reference to a set of standard photographs (proposed grading system). The graders were masked to the order of images, and the order of images was randomized. Interobserver agreement in grading the severity of inflammation with and without the use of grading system was evaluated.
Conclusions: This system of standardized images for scleritis grading provides significantly more consistent grading of scleral inflammation in this study and has clear applications in clinical settings and clinical research.
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Very nice post, thanks for sharing the information. Keep up the good work.
scleritis
Hi there! great stuff here, I'm glad that I drop by your page and found this very interesting. Thanks for posting. Hoping to read something like this in the future! Keep it up!
Scleritis may occur as a result of various stimuli, the most famous of which is rheumatoid arthritis. But many of the so called connective tissue diseases or collagen vascular diseases may have scleritis as part of their disease spectrum. Indeed, inflammation of the sclera can sometimes be a presenting manifestation of a potentially very serious systemic disease. Sometimes inflammation in the eye will precede extraocular (outside the eye) manifestations of a serious systemic disease by many months or even a few years. This is but one of the many reasons why it is so critical for patients to regularly visit with a physician trained in ophthalmology: an ophthalmologist.