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Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol 2013; 26(06): 469-478
DOI: 10.3415/VCOT-13-01-0018
Original Research
Schattauer GmbH

Measurement of the patellar tendon-tibial plateau angle and tuberosity advancement in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture

Reliability of the common tangent and tibial plateau methods of measurement
M. Millet
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup – Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L´Etoile, France
,
C. Bismuth
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup – Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L´Etoile, France
,
A. Labrunie
2   CHU Limoges, Pôle Santé Publique, Service de l´Information Médicale et de l´Evaluation, Unité Fonctionnelle de Recherche Clinique et de Biostatistiques, Limoges, France
,
B. Marin
2   CHU Limoges, Pôle Santé Publique, Service de l´Information Médicale et de l´Evaluation, Unité Fonctionnelle de Recherche Clinique et de Biostatistiques, Limoges, France
,
A. Filleur
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup – Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L´Etoile, France
,
P. Pillard
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup – Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L´Etoile, France
,
J. Sonet
3   Departmehnt of Diagnostic Imaging, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L´Etoile, France
,
T. Cachon
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup – Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L´Etoile, France
,
S. Etchepareborde
4   CHV des Cordeliers, Meaux, France
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 23 January 2013

Accepted: 19 July 2013

Publication Date:
04 January 2018 (online)

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Summary

Objectives: To (i) compare agreement of the common tangent (CT) and tibial plateau angle (TP) methods in terms of measuring the patellar tendon angle (PTA) and required advancement and (ii) determine the intraand inter-observer reliability of observers who measured PTA and the advancement.

Methods: Six observers were divided into three groups based on their level of experience. They measured the PTA and the required advancement on 43 radiographic images of the tibiae of dogs affected by cranial cruciate ligament rupture. Each observer repeated the measurements three times with each method. The inter-technique (interT), intra-observer (intraO), and interobserver (interO) reliabilities were evaluated, assessed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and represented by Jones plots.

Results: The agreement between PTA-CT and PTA-TP was low (the ICC interT values ranged from 0.11 to 0.4). The PTA-CT was associated with moderate intra-observer reliability (ICC intraO, CT = 0.61) and poor interobserver reliability (ICC interO, CT = 0.33). The PTA-TP was associated with good intra-observer reliability (ICC intraO, TP = 0.75) and moderate interobserver reliability (ICC interO, TP = 0.59). Interobserver reliability did not depend on the level of experience. The advancement measurements were associated with reliability results similar to those obtained for PTA. Jones’ plots showed that the CT method consistently yielded lower PTA and advancement values than the TP method.

Conclusion: Given its poor reliability, the CT method is not recommended.

Keywords

Patellar tendon angle - tibial tuberosity advancement - dog - common tangent - reliability
 

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