To the Editor:
I was distressed upon reading an article in the September 2013 issue
1
in which the authors reported on the interobserver reliability of diagnosing a scapholunate dissociation. Unfortunately, the acronym SLD was used to define both scapholunate dissociation and scapholunate ligament disruption.This is a problem for 2 reasons. First, it implies that the terms dissociation and disruption are synonymous. In my practice, I do not use these words interchangeably. I think of disruption as the actual state of ligament rupture (whether observed or not) and dissociation as the radiographic finding of a widened scapholunate interosseous space. Even if my understanding and use of these terms is incorrect, it is standard in all forms of English literature to define an acronym early in the text—as the authors did—and then to use it consistently. Second, by using the acronym SLD to define two separate phrases, it is not clear if the L stands for ligament or lunate.
I realize that this article resulted from an international collaboration and there might have been a translation problem. I do not speak German and perhaps there is only 1 word in that language to describe both dissociation and disruption.
For this reader, the inconsistent use of the acronym brought into question any subsequent details within the paper and made it impossible for me to benefit from what I am sure represents the hard work and insightful analysis of these esteemed researchers. I suspect that an error such as this one would have precluded another article from publication in many respected journals, magazines, and newspapers. I believe that we should hold ourselves to the highest literary standards.
Reference
- Science of Variation Group. Radiographic diagnosis of scapholunate dissociation among intra-articular fractures of the distal radius: interobserver reliability.J Hand Surg Am. 2013; 38: 1685-1690
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© 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Radiographic Diagnosis of Scapholunate Dissociation Among Intra-articular Fractures of the Distal Radius: Interobserver ReliabilityJournal of Hand SurgeryVol. 38Issue 9
- In Reply:Journal of Hand SurgeryVol. 39Issue 2
- PreviewWe agree with you, and I am sure the reviewers and editor agree as well. Not only is language an issue, but also experience and training. There were many drafts edited to try to get the terminology accurate and consistent, but your careful eye found a persistent inconsistency. To clarify, the reliability data relate to diagnosis of scapholunate dissociation on radiographs, and the accuracy data relate to the diagnosis of scapholunate ligament disruption diagnosed according to the described reference standard.
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