Interobserver variation in wound assessments
Lorentzen, H.F.; Gottrup, F.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 160(22): 3215-3218
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-5782 PMID: 9621800 Document Number: 492512
Agreement in describing a chronic leg ulcer is pivotal in identifying and treating impediments to the healing process. Six nurses and one doctor without special experience with wound healing registered wound related diagnoses for a five month period. On average each patient was seen by three observers yielding 270 registrations. Agreement beyond chance (global kappa) showed poor to moderate agreement. Agreement was best for the yellow or malodorous wound and lowest for cellulitis, hypergranulation and peripheral pulses. This emphasizes the importance of allocating wound treatment to specialist departments with access to paraclinical investigations.