1. Diagnostic Accuracy for Acute Rib Fractures: A Cross-sectional Study Utilizing Automatic Rib Unfolding and 3D Volume-Rendered Reformation.
- Author
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Lee, Chih-Wei, Huang, Cheng-Chieh, Jang, Yong-Ching, Chen, Kuan-Chih, Ho, Shang-Yun, Chou, Chen-Te, and Wu, Wen-Pei
- Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the use of computed tomography (CT) with automatic rib unfolding and three-dimensional (3D) volume-rendered imaging in the detection and characterization of rib fractures and flail chest. A total of 130 patients with blunt chest trauma underwent whole-body CT, and five independent readers assessed the presence and characterization of rib fractures using traditional CT images, automatic rib unfolding, and 3D volume-rendered images in separate readout sessions at least 2 weeks apart. A gold standard was established by consensus among the readers based on the combined analysis of conventional and reformatted images. Automatic rib unfolding significantly reduced mean reading time by 47.5%–74.9% (P < 0.0001) while maintaining a comparable diagnostic performance for rib fractures (positive predictive value [PPV] of 82.1%–93.5%, negative predictive value [NPV] of 96.8%–98.2%, and 69.4%–94.2% and 96.9%–99.1% for conventional axial images and 70.4%–85.1% and 95.2%–96.6% for 3D images) and better interobserver agreement (kappa of 0.74–0.87). For flail chest, automatic rib unfolding showed a PPV of 85.7%–100%, NPV of 90.4%–99.0%, and 80.0%–100% and 89.7%–100% for conventional axial images and 76.9%–100% and 89.0%–92.1% for 3D images. Automatic rib unfolding demonstrated equivalent diagnostic performance to conventional images in detecting acute rib fractures and flail chest, with good interobserver agreement and time-saving benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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