REPRODUCIBILITY AND OBSERVER VARIABILITY OF TRANSRECTAL ULTRASOUND MEASUREMENTS OF PROSTATIC VOLUME

Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) is an established investigation in benig n and malignant prostatic disease though the level of reproducibility of TRUS volume measurements is not known. A group of observers in the UK and the USA who were participating in linked prospective studies of benign prostatic hyperplasia each carried out measurements during rea l-time scanning and on a series of static TRUS images. Results demonst rated good reproducibility for measurements of antero-posterior, trans verse, and longitudinal dimensions of the prostate by an experienced U K urologist; only a minor degree of interobserver variation occurred i n measurements made between experienced UK and USA observers. Using st atic images, USA observers obtained results that were in good agreemen t, whereas the UK observers, only two of whom used TRUS regularly, wer e in poor agreement with each other. This study demonstrates a high le vel of reproducibility for TRUS volume measurements performed by exper ienced observers.