The following is the summary of “Immersion ultrasonography improves the repeatability of cephalic vein diameter measurements for inexperienced operators” published in the October 2022 issue of Renal failure by Zhang, et al.

Providing a new method for inexperienced operators, enhancing the reproducibility of measurements for inexperienced operators, and reducing the empirical dependency on ultrasound measurement of the cephalic vein diameter. Contact ultrasonography and immersion ultrasound were utilized by technicians who lacked prior familiarity with ultrasound to determine the diameter of the cephalic vein. Measurements acquired by any of the two approaches were subjected to an examination of their repeatability within and between observers.

The intraobserver and interobserver repeatability of the cephalic vein diameter measured via contact ultrasound by inexperienced operators was average, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) of 0.572 (95% CI]: 0.239–0.759) and 0.405 (95% CI: 0.057–0.666), respectively. Both of these values fell within the range of 95% CI. The intraobserver and interobserver repeatability of the cephalic vein diameter assessed by immersion ultrasound were extremely good, with ICCs of 0.955 (95% CI: 0.922–0.975) and 0.943 (95% CI: 0.900–0.967), respectively. 

These ranges represent 95% CI. About 96% of the points on the Bland–Altman diagram of the intraobserver and interobserver agreement of the immersion ultrasound measurements of the cephalic vein diameter fell within the 95% range of agreement. This was the case for both the intraobserver and the interobserver agreement. Immersion ultrasonography is a method that can be used to measure the diameter of the cephalic vein without placing as much of a reliance on the operator’s level of competence; even novice operators can achieve very excellent repeatability when using this method.

Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0886022X.2022.2131573