Assessment of accuracy of the scoliosis school screening examination

Abstract

Fifteen nurses of comparable training examined six children with normal spines, eight with curves between 10° and 20°, and three with curves over 20°. Nurses correctly classified 78 per cent of normal children, 49 per cent of those with curves between 10° and 20°, and 93 per cent of curves over 20°. The accuracy of the nurses' decision to refer or not to refer was determined to be 75 per cent. The sensitivity and specificity values were calculated as 74 per cent and 78 per cent, respectively. Kappa statistics were calculated to assess the agreement greater than chance of the nurse with x-ray evidence. Overall, there was significant agreement (K = 0.49; p < .001).