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Home / Equine Research Bank / Equine Vet J / Agreement among equine veterinarians and between equine vete...
Equine veterinary journal2019; 52(2); 326-331; doi: 10.1111/evj.13144

Agreement among equine veterinarians and between equine veterinarians and inertial sensor system during clinical examination of hindlimb lameness in horses.

Abstract: Hindlimb lameness evaluation is known to be challenging. Experience is essential for the ability of equine veterinarians to detect lameness. Nevertheless, even an experienced veterinarian is still subject to bias. Objective lameness detecting methods have been established to aid veterinarians. Objective: 1) To estimate the effect of experience on the interobserver agreement and the agreement between a body-mounted inertial sensor system (BMISS) and veterinarians on detecting hindlimb lameness, and 2) to estimate the agreement between the BMISS and highly experienced veterinarians on change in lameness after diagnostic analgesia. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Twenty-six horses with hindlimb lameness were evaluated in clinical conditions by clinicians and simultaneously measured by the BMISS. Videos of their lameness examination were recorded and shown to 13 veterinarians from three groups of varying experience for evaluation. The interobserver agreement and the agreement between veterinarians and the BMISS were calculated. Results: Interobserver agreement from all three groups was recorded as 'fair'. The strength of agreement between veterinarians and BMISS was 'fair' for the highly experienced group, 'slight to fair' for the moderately experienced group and 'slight' in the inexperienced group. The BMISS and the highly experienced veterinarians declared a 'strong' agreement in assigning an improvement in lameness after diagnostic analgesia. Conclusions: Lameness evaluation through video viewing might be more challenging for some evaluators than live situations. Conclusions: Given the task of evaluating videos of horses trotting in a straight line, the more experienced veterinarians did not show more reliability than those with less experience. Due to 1) the moderate agreement between the BMISS and clinicians (highly experienced and moderately experienced) in the live clinical evaluation in determining hindlimb lameness, and 2) the strong association between the BMISS and highly experienced veterinarians in determining improvement of lameness after anaesthesia, therefore the use of the BMISS as a supporting tool for veterinarians is encouraged.
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Publication Date: 2019-07-21 PubMed ID: 31233625DOI: 10.1111/evj.13144Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The study explores how the experience of veterinarians is related to the detection of lameness in the hindlimbs of horses, using both their own judgement and a body-mounted inertial sensor system (BMISS). The research found a fair amount of agreement among veterinarians, as well as between the veterinary assessments and the BMISS, particularly among those with high experience.

Research Methodology

  • The team conducted a cross-sectional study involving 26 lameness-affected horses.
  • These horses were examined in a clinical setting by veterinarians. Their lameness was simultaneously measured using a BMISS.
  • The researchers recorded videos of these examinations for further evaluations. They showed these videos to 13 veterinarians grouped into three classes based on their experience levels.
  • The interobserver agreement, or the level of consensus among different veterinarians, was calculated. They also estimated the agreement between the veterinarians’ assessments and the BMISS.

Research Findings

  • The interobserver agreement among all experience groups was rated as ‘fair.’ This implies a certain level of consistency in the detection of hindlimb lameness across all veterinarians, regardless of their experience.
  • When comparing the veterinarians’ evaluations with the BMISS measurements, the agreement was ranked as ‘fair’ for the highly experienced group, ‘slightly to fair’ for the moderately experienced group, and ‘slight’ for the inexperienced participants. Thus, highly experienced veterinarians were notably more aligned with the BMISS results than their less-experienced colleagues.
  • When assessing changes in lameness following a diagnostic analgesia procedure, the BMISS and highly experienced veterinarians showed a ‘strong’ agreement, suggesting their high match in evaluating improvement in lameness.

Conclusions and Recommendations

  • The study indicates that video evaluations of lameness might be more challenging for some veterinarians than real-life examinations.
  • More experienced veterinarians did not exhibit substantially more reliability than less experienced ones while evaluating horse lameness through video recordings.
  • Despite this, the study affirmed a moderate agreement between the BMISS and veterinarians (particularly highly experienced ones) during live clinical evaluations of hindlimb lameness.
  • A strong agreement existed between BMISS and highly experienced veterinarians when determining the improvement of lameness after anaesthesia.
  • Given these findings, the study encourages the use of BMISS as a valuable supplementary tool for veterinarians in diagnosing and tracking hindlimb lameness in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Leelamankong P, Estrada R, Mählmann K, Rungsri P, Lischer C. (2019). Agreement among equine veterinarians and between equine veterinarians and inertial sensor system during clinical examination of hindlimb lameness in horses. Equine Vet J, 52(2), 326-331. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13144

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 52
Issue: 2
Pages: 326-331

Researcher Affiliations

Leelamankong, P
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Estrada, R
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
  • Large Animal Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, National University, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Mählmann, K
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Rungsri, P
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
  • Department of Companion Animal and Wildlife Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Lischer, C
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Gait
  • Hindlimb
  • Horse Diseases
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Lameness, Animal
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Veterinarians

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