Intra- and inter-rater agreement of superior vena cava flow and right ventricular outflow measurements in late preterm and term neonates

Abstract

Objectives—To explore the intra- and inter-rater agreement of superior vena cava (SVC) flow and right ventricular (RV) outflow in healthy and unwell late preterm neonates (33–37 weeks’ gestational age), term neonates (≥37 weeks’ gestational age), and neonates receiving total-body cooling. Methods—The intra- and inter-rater agreement (n525 and 41 neonates, respectively) rates for SVC flow and RV outflow were determined by echocardiography in healthy and unwell late preterm and term neonates with the use of Bland-Altman plots, the repeatability coefficient, the repeatability index, and intraclass correlation coefficients. Results—The intra-rater repeatability index values were 41% for SVC flow and 31% for RV outflow, with intraclass correlation coefficients indicating good agreement for both measures. The inter-rater repeatability index values for SVC flow and RV outflow were 63% and 51%, respectively, with intraclass correlation coefficients indicating moderate agreement for both measures. Conclusions—If SVC flow or RV outflow is used in the hemodynamic treatment of neonates, sequential measurements should ideally be performed by the same clinician to reduce potential variability.