Binary nature and radiographic identifiability of craniosynostosis.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Two independent gold standards and diagnoses from three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) images were used to examine the possibility that craniosynostosis is a binary abnormality that potentially may be diagnosed without error.

METHODS

Surgical reports, histology of excised sutures, and three-dimensional CT images were compared for 25 children undergoing surgical management of craniosynostosis. Surgical reports identified sutures as normal or abnormal. Histology reported suture closure on a 5-point scale. Four radiologists used three-dimensional CT images to diagnose sutures on a 6-point rated response scale.

RESULTS

Sutures with histology 0, 1, or 2 were normal on surgical reports, and those with histology 3 or 4 were abnormal. Most readers achieved nearly perfect sensitivity and specificity. Reader confidence was unrelated to degree of pathology.

CONCLUSION

Craniosynostosis appears to be binary in our sample. Surgical reports, pathology results, and three-dimensional CT images read by experienced viewers achieved nearly perfect agreement.