Interrater agreement in headache diagnoses
Background: Diagnosing headache disorders comprises the collection and interpretation of information. This study estimates agreement and bias in the latter. Methods: Physicians and medical students diagnosed eight patients’ headaches using the International Classification of Headache Disorders. We c...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Cephalalgia Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/25158163221115391 |
| _version_ | 1818041959454867456 |
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| author | Maria Susanne Neumeier Miranda Stattmann Susanne Wegener Andreas R Gantenbein Heiko Pohl |
| author_facet | Maria Susanne Neumeier Miranda Stattmann Susanne Wegener Andreas R Gantenbein Heiko Pohl |
| author_sort | Maria Susanne Neumeier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Diagnosing headache disorders comprises the collection and interpretation of information. This study estimates agreement and bias in the latter. Methods: Physicians and medical students diagnosed eight patients’ headaches using the International Classification of Headache Disorders. We calculated Cohen’s Kappa for all participants and subgroups (board-certified neurologists, physicians working in a neurology department). Moreover, we asked how sure they felt about their diagnoses. Finally, participants estimated the number of different headache diagnoses a patient receives when consulting many physicians for the same headache and indicated the highest acceptable number. Results: The data of 63 participants entered the analysis, of whom 18 were neurologists (18/63, 28.6%), and 41 were currently working at a neurology clinic (41/63, 66.7%). Cohen’s Kappa decreased (0.706, 0.566, and 0.408) with increasing levels of the classification hierarchy. Interrater agreement was highest among neurologists. Physicians not working in a neurology clinic tended to diagnose secondary headaches more often were less confident about their diagnoses. Conclusions: Physicians with less experience in headache disorders struggle more to diagnose headaches than neurologists do; they suspect secondary headaches, disagree, and feel insecure more often. Thus, interpreting a headache history is prone to error and bias. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T08:38:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eff7b5ce659a4a93b25fbdc6bdcaba0b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2515-8163 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T08:38:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cephalalgia Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-eff7b5ce659a4a93b25fbdc6bdcaba0b2022-12-22T01:55:55ZengSAGE PublishingCephalalgia Reports2515-81632022-07-01510.1177/25158163221115391Interrater agreement in headache diagnosesMaria Susanne Neumeier0Miranda Stattmann1Susanne Wegener2Andreas R Gantenbein3Heiko Pohl4 Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Department of Neurology, Zurzach Care, Bad Zurzach, Switzerland Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandBackground: Diagnosing headache disorders comprises the collection and interpretation of information. This study estimates agreement and bias in the latter. Methods: Physicians and medical students diagnosed eight patients’ headaches using the International Classification of Headache Disorders. We calculated Cohen’s Kappa for all participants and subgroups (board-certified neurologists, physicians working in a neurology department). Moreover, we asked how sure they felt about their diagnoses. Finally, participants estimated the number of different headache diagnoses a patient receives when consulting many physicians for the same headache and indicated the highest acceptable number. Results: The data of 63 participants entered the analysis, of whom 18 were neurologists (18/63, 28.6%), and 41 were currently working at a neurology clinic (41/63, 66.7%). Cohen’s Kappa decreased (0.706, 0.566, and 0.408) with increasing levels of the classification hierarchy. Interrater agreement was highest among neurologists. Physicians not working in a neurology clinic tended to diagnose secondary headaches more often were less confident about their diagnoses. Conclusions: Physicians with less experience in headache disorders struggle more to diagnose headaches than neurologists do; they suspect secondary headaches, disagree, and feel insecure more often. Thus, interpreting a headache history is prone to error and bias.https://doi.org/10.1177/25158163221115391 |
| spellingShingle | Maria Susanne Neumeier Miranda Stattmann Susanne Wegener Andreas R Gantenbein Heiko Pohl Interrater agreement in headache diagnoses Cephalalgia Reports |
| title | Interrater agreement in headache diagnoses |
| title_full | Interrater agreement in headache diagnoses |
| title_fullStr | Interrater agreement in headache diagnoses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interrater agreement in headache diagnoses |
| title_short | Interrater agreement in headache diagnoses |
| title_sort | interrater agreement in headache diagnoses |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/25158163221115391 |
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