Rater agreement for assessment of equine back mobility at walk and trot compared to quantitative gait analysis.
Abstract: Lameness assessment in horses is still predominantly performed using subjective methods. Visual assessment is known to have moderate to good intra-rater agreement but relatively poor inter-rater agreement. Little is known about inter- and intra-rater agreement on the evaluation of back motion, for which no objective measurement technique in a clinical setting is available thus far. To describe inter- and intra-rater agreement of visual evaluation of equine back mobility. Rater reliability study using a fully crossed design in which all horses are rated by all observers. This data is compared with objective gait analysis. Seventy equine professionals (veterinarians and physiotherapists) and veterinary students evaluated videos of 12 healthy horses at walk and trot on a hard, straight line. Nine parameters related to back mobility were scored: general mobility, thoracic, lumbar, lumbosacral flexion and extension and left and right thoracolumbar latero-flexion. All parameters were compared with simultaneously measured quantitative motion parameters. After 1 month, six randomly chosen horses were re-evaluated by 57 observers. For each parameter inter- and intra-rater agreements were calculated using intra-class correlation coefficients. For all parameters, inter-rater agreement was very poor (<0.2). The mean intra-rater agreement of all observers and for all parameters was poor (~0.4) but varied between 0.0 and 0.96 for individual observers. There was no correlation between the visual subjective scoring and objective gait analysis measurements. Horses were scored from videos and by lack of any existing (semi-) quantitative system, a custom-made system had to be used. The poor inter- and intra-rater agreements of visual scoring of mobility of the equine back and the disagreement between subjective and objective gait analysis data, demonstrate the need for the development and introduction of objective, quantitative and repeatable techniques to assess equine back motion.
Publication Date: 2021-06-04 PubMed ID: 34086765PubMed Central: PMC8177646DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252536Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Back Pain
- Biomechanics
- Clinical Examination
- Clinical Pathology
- Clinical Study
- Diagnosis
- Diagnostic Technique
- Disease Diagnosis
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Equine Science
- Gait Analysis
- Horses
- Lameness
- Locomotion
- Observational Study
- Veterinary Care
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Practice
- Veterinary Procedure
- Veterinary Research
Summary
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The research article discusses the assessment of horse back mobility, finding that subjective visual evaluation methods yield poor consistency between and within evaluators, and do not correlate with objective gait analysis. The study highlights the need for developing more objective and repeatable techniques to assess equine back motion.
Study Design and Methodology
- The study employed a rater reliability methodology, involving a fully crossed design where all horses were rated by all of the observers. These observations were compared to objective gait analysis.
- 70 professionals in the equine field, including veterinarians, physiotherapists, and veterinary students, viewed and assessed videos of 12 healthy horses walking and trotting in a straight line on a hard surface.
- In the absence of an existing quantitative system for assessing back mobility, the research used a custom-made system. Nine parameters related to back mobility were scored, including general mobility, thoracic, lumbar, lumbosacral flexion and extension, and left and right thoracolumbar latero-flexion.
Results and Findings
- The inter-rater agreement (consistency of assessments between different raters) for all parameters was found to be very poor, with intra-class correlation coefficients less than 0.2.
- Mean intra-rater agreement (consistency of assessments by the same rater) across all observers and for all parameters was also poor, with a value around 0.4. However, it varied significantly across individual observers, ranging from 0.0 to 0.96.
- No correlation was found between the subjective visual scores and the objective measurements from gait analysis.
Implications and Conclusions
- The study highlights a critical issue with the assessment of equine back mobility, which is predominantly done using subjective visual methods.
- Given the poor inter- and intra-rater agreement and the lack of correlation with objective gait analysis, the researchers conclude that there’s a need for developing more objective, repeatable, and quantitative techniques to assess back motion in horses.
- In light of their findings, the authors suggest that relying on subjective scoring systems may not yield reliable or valid assessments of equine back mobility.
Cite This Article
APA
Spoormakers TJP, Graat EAM, Serra Bragança FM, Weeren PRV, Brommer H.
(2021).
Rater agreement for assessment of equine back mobility at walk and trot compared to quantitative gait analysis.
PLoS One, 16(6), e0252536.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252536 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Equine Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Department of Animal Sciences, Adaptation Physiology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Equine Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Equine Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Equine Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Gait Analysis / methods
- Gait Analysis / standards
- Gait Analysis / veterinary
- Horses / physiology
- Observer Variation
- Spine / physiology
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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