Detection of heart calcification with electron beam CT: interobserver and intraobserver reliability for scoring quantification.

Abstract

To assess interobserver and intraobserver reliability of three quantitative measures of coronary artery calcium burden: calcium "score," number of calcified lesions, and calcified area. Electron beam computed tomographic (CT) scanning was used in a series of 25 patients to detect coronary artery calcification. Scan results were reviewed for quality by a radiologist, then scored by two radiologic technologists and by another radiologist. Many interobserver and intraobserver disagreements were noted on a lesion-by-lesion basis. Since most disagreements involved very small lesions, however, their impact was negligible for all three measures of calcium burden. It is not useful for more than one observer to independently score a single CT examination obtained to detect cardiac calcification, even when the arteries are heavily calcified.