Gebhardt-Henrich Sabine G, Rufener Christina, Stratmann Ariane
Center for Proper Housing: Poultry and Rabbits (ZTHZ), Division of Animal Welfare, VPH Institute, University of Bern, Zollikofen, 3052, Switzerland.
Poult Sci. 2019 Jul 15. doi: 10.1093/ps/pez410.
Assessing keel bone damage reliably and accurately is a requirement for all research on this topic. Most commonly, assessment is done on live birds by palpation and is therefore prone to bias. A 2-day Training School of the COST Action "Identifying causes and solutions of keel bone damage in laying hens" with 16 participants of variable experience was held where palpation of live hens was followed by consulting corresponding radiographic images of keel bones. We hypothesized that the inter-observer and intra-observer repeatabilities as well as the agreement between palpation and assessment from the radiograph (considered as the accuracy) would increase from day 1 to 2. Repeatability estimates were calculated using the R-package rptR and the change in level of accuracy on day 1 and 2 was analyzed with generalized linear models. As predicted, the inter-observer repeatabilities of the assessments of the fractures and deviations were improved by training, but this improvement differed for fractures and deviations between the cranial, middle, and caudal parts of the keel bone. Intra-observer repeatabilities before training also differed between the different parts of the keel bone and were highest for fractures at the caudal part of the keel bone. The training affected the accuracy of palpation to different degrees for the different parts of the keel bone. A training effect was found for the caudal part of the keel bone in regard to fractures and deviations, but for fractures the training effect was missing for the cranial part and for deviations it was missing for the middle part of the keel bone. In conclusion, the training school involving radiographs improved inter-observer repeatabilities in the diagnosis of fractures and deviations of keel bones and thus had the potential to lead to more comparable results among research groups.
可靠且准确地评估龙骨损伤是该主题所有研究的一项要求。最常见的是，在活禽上通过触诊进行评估，因此容易产生偏差。举办了为期两天的“确定蛋鸡龙骨损伤的原因及解决方案”成本行动培训学校，有16名经验各异的参与者，先对活母鸡进行触诊，然后参考相应的龙骨X光图像。我们假设，从第1天到第2天，观察者间和观察者内的重复性以及触诊与X光片评估之间的一致性（视为准确性）会提高。使用R包rptR计算重复性估计值，并通过广义线性模型分析第1天和第2天准确性水平的变化。正如预测的那样，通过培训提高了骨折和偏差评估的观察者间重复性，但龙骨骨头部、中部和尾部的骨折和偏差的改善情况有所不同。培训前观察者内的重复性在龙骨骨的不同部位也有所不同，龙骨骨尾部骨折的重复性最高。培训对龙骨骨不同部位触诊的准确性有不同程度的影响。在龙骨骨尾部的骨折和偏差方面发现了培训效果，但在龙骨骨头部的骨折方面未发现培训效果，在龙骨骨中部的偏差方面也未发现培训效果。总之，涉及X光片的培训学校提高了观察者间在龙骨骨折和偏差诊断方面的重复性，因此有可能使各研究组之间的结果更具可比性。
