Pfirrmann tested whether lumbar disc degeneration can be graded reliably on routine T2-weighted MRI using a literature-based five-grade system and a simple algorithm. Reliability study of 300 lumbar discs in 60 patients (mean age 40, range 10 to 83), each graded independently by three observers, analyzed with intra- and interobserver kappa statistics.
Pfirrmann tested whether lumbar disc degeneration can be graded reliably on routine T2-weighted MRI using a literature-based five-grade system and a simple algorithm. Reliability study of 300 lumbar discs in 60 patients (mean age 40, range 10 to 83), each graded independently by three observers, analyzed with intra- and interobserver kappa statistics.