TY - JOUR T1 - Interreader Reliability in Assessment of Nailfold Capillary Abnormalities by Beginners: Pilot Study of an Intensive Videocapillaroscopy Training Program JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol DO - 10.3899/jrheum.111299 SP - jrheum.111299 AU - Marwin Gutierrez AU - Chiara Bertolazzi AU - Marika Tardella AU - Andrea Becciolini AU - Marco Di Carlo AU - Marta Dottori AU - Walter Grassi AU - Rossella De Angelis Y1 - 2012/04/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2012/03/25/jrheum.111299.abstract N2 - Objective To test the learning curve of rheumatologists with different experience in videocapillaroscopy (VCP) attending an intensive training program focused on interpretation of the main capillary nailfold abnormalities, the scleroderma (systemic sclerosis, SSc) pattern, and the normal pattern, and to determine their interreader agreement with an experienced investigator. Methods Five investigators (1 senior, 1 junior, and 3 beginners) participated in the exercise. The study was composed of 2 steps. First, an independent investigator selected representative VCP images of normal patterns and capillary abnormalities. The second step included the training program, which ran 4 hours per day for 7 days. The senior rheumatologist taught investigators to recognize and interpret the normal pattern, the capillary abnormalities, and the different types of SSc pattern. These abnormalities were considered: homogeneously enlarged capillaries, giant capillaries, irregularly enlarged capillaries, microhemorrhages, neoangiogenesis, avascular areas, and capillary density. Results A total of 300 VCP images were read from all the investigators. Both κ values and overall agreement percentages of qualitative and quantitative assessments showed progressive improvement from poor to excellent from the beginning to the end of the exercise. The sensitivity and specificity of the participants in the assessment of SSc pattern at the last lecture session were high. Conclusion Our pilot study suggests that after an intensive 1-week training program, novice investigators with little or no experience in VCP are able to interpret the main capillary abnormalities and SSc pattern and to achieve good interreader agreement rates. ER -