Meta-Analysis of Interobserver Agreement in Assessment of Interstitial Lung Disease Using High-Resolution CT

Background High-resolution CT (HRCT) is central to the assessment of interstitial lung disease (ILD), and accurate classification of disease has important implications for patients. Evaluation of imaging features can be challenging, even for experienced thoracic radiologists. Previous work has provided equivocal evidence on the interpretation of HRCT features at ILD-related imaging. Purpose To perform a meta-analysis to assess the level of agreement among expert thoracic radiologists in interpreting ILD-related imaging. Materials and Methods A systematic literature search from January 2000 to October 2023 of the Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases was performed for articles reporting assessments of interobserver agreement between thoracic radiologists for evaluation of ILD findings, such as severity and progression of disease, presence of features such as honeycombing and ground-glass opacification, and classification based on the 2011 and 2018 American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society/Japanese Respiratory Society/Asociación Latinoamericana del Tórax (ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT) guidelines for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model to obtain pooled κ or intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values as measures of interobserver agreement. Results The final analysis included 13 studies consisting of 6943 images and 146 radiologists. In 10 studies assessing agreement of specific radiologic findings in ILD, the pooled κ value was 0.56 (95% CI: 0.43, 0.70). In eight studies, the assessed interobserver agreement of the ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT diagnostic guidelines for IPF based on usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) patterns, the pooled κ value was 0.61 (95% CI: 0.48, 0.74). One study reported a κ value of 0.87 for ILD progression. Seven studies assessing ILD severity could not be pooled; the individual κ values for ILD severity ranged from 0.64 to 0.90, and ICC values ranged from 0.63 to 0.96. Conclusion There was moderate agreement between thoracic radiologists when assessing ILD features and UIP pattern diagnosis but little evidence on agreement of disease severity, extent, or progression. Meta-analysis registry no. PROSPERO CRD42022361803 © RSNA, 2024 Supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Humbert in this issue.