Pneumoconioses Radiographs in a Large Population of U.S. Coal Workers: Variability in a Reader and B Reader Classifications by Using the International Labour Office Classification

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blackley DJ ; Halldin, Cara N. ; Laney AS ; Petsonk, Edward L.
• Description:
  Purpose: To assess the level of concordance between chest radiographic classifications of A and B Readers in a national surveillance program offered to U.S. coal miners over an approximate 36-year period. Materials and Methods: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) is a surveillance program with nonresearch designation and is exempt from Human Subjects Review Board approval (11-DRDS-NR03). Thirty-six years of data (1979-2015) from the CWHSP were analyzed, which included all conventional screen-film radiographs with a classification by at least one A Reader and one B Reader. Agreement was assessed by using kappa statistics; prevalence ratios were used to describe differences between A and B Reader determinations of image technical quality, small opacity profusion, and presence of large opacities and pleural abnormalities. Results: The analysis included 79,185 matched A and B Reader chest radiograph classifications. A majority of both A and B Readers were radiologists (74.2% [213 of 287] vs 64.7% [22 of 34]; P = .04). A and B Readers had minimal agreement on technical image quality (kappa = 0.0796; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.07, 0.08) and the distribution of small opacity profusion (subcategory kappa, 0.2352; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.25). A Readers classified more images as "good" quality (prevalence ratio, 1.38; 95% CI: 1.35, 1.41) and identified more pneumoconiosis (prevalence ratio, 1.22; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.23). Conclusion: A Readers classified substantially more radiographs with evidence of pneumoconiosis and classified higher small opacity profusion compared with B Readers. These observations reinforce the importance of multiple classifications by readers who have demonstrated ongoing competence in the International Labour Office classification system to ensure accurate radiographic classifications. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Lung Lung Diseases Mining Occupational Health Radiation Radiography Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

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• Keywords:
  Black Lung Disease Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis CWHSP Lung Fibrosis Surveillance Programs X-ray Diagnosis
• ISSN:
  0033-8419
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  284
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049787
• Citation:
  Radiology 2017 Sep; 284(3):870-876
• Contact Point Address:
  Cara N. Halldin, PhD, Surveillance Branch, Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1095 Willowdale Rd,, Mail Stop HG900.2, Morgantown, WV 26505-2888
• Email:
  CHalldin@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Radiology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4b98b15d755b8d7927524b2ea240f6a6124608a0964f6ef047fbd7558e0ed4ab72d74668bc0b1d8e99b96461cabcee50c4f4ffd5231de5c0c34af4e57193b932
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210417/cdc_210417_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 321.78 KB ]