REPRODUCIBILITY OF EXTRACRANIAL CAROTID ATHEROSCLEROTIC LESIONS ASSESSED BY B-MODE ULTRASOUND - THE ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK IN COMMUNITIES STUDY

The reproducibility in the identification of carotid artery lesions us ing B-mode ultrasound was studied in a large random sample selected fr om the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, Carotid lesio ns were defined as plaque with or without acoustic shadowing (indicati ve of mineralization). A weighted kappa (kappa(w)) statistic was used as a chance-adjusted measure of repeatability, In the ARIC baseline su rvey, the kappa(w) values for the assessment of lesions on repeat read ing were 0.47, 0.60 and 0.69 in the left common carotid artery, the ca rotid bifurcation and the internal carotid artery, respectively, In a repeat scanning, the kappa(w) values ranged from 0.59 to 0.79 in the l eft carotid segments, The results were similar in the left and right c arotid arteries, Covariates (age, race, gender, body mass index, study center) did not influence the reproducibility, Similar results were a lso found in both the baseline survey and the first follow-up examinat ion, In conclusion, reproducibility in the assessment of carotid lesio ns by B-mode ultrasound can be achieved in multicenter studies at fair to good levels of agreement.