Validating the use of report-derived Lund-MacKay scores
Date
2009
Authors
Thwin, M.
Weitzel, E.
McMains, K.
Athanasiadis, T.
Psaltis, A.
Field, J.
Wormald, P.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy, 2009; 23(1):33-35
Statement of Responsibility
May Thwin, Erik Kent Weitzel, Kevin Christopher McMains, Theodore Athanasiadis, Alkis Psaltis, John Field, Peter-John Wormald
Conference Name
Abstract
Background: The Lund-MacKay score (LMS) is the standard for communicating radiological extent of chronic rhinosinusitis in research. However, retrospective analyses are often hindered by a substantial lack of radiological data. Calculating LMS from radiologists' reports may overcome this but has not been formally validated. Methods: Twenty South Australian and 20 Texan patients with varying degrees of sinus disease were randomly chosen to undergo analysis. CT-derived LMSs were calculated directly by two expert rhinologists at each institution and compared with scores derived solely from accompanying radiology reports by two blinded reviewers. Results: The total LMS obtained via the expert rhinologists correlated very highly with that obtained from radiology reports (Spearman rank correlation, 0.75-0.88; p < 0.001). However, when individual sinuses were specifically analyzed, the correlation was highly variable. Conclusion: The results show that in both South Australian and Texan tertiary rhinology centers, radiologists' reports can be reliably used to calculate the total LMS.