关键词: 颈椎骨龄定量分期法, 手腕骨龄分期法, 准确性, 重复性, Quantitative Cervical Vertebral Maturation, Skeletal Maturity Indicators, accuracy, repeatability

Abstract: Objective　 To investigate the accuracy and repeatability of Quantitative Cervical Vertebral Maturation (QCVM) for adolescents with normal occlusion. Methods　According to the Fishman Skeletal Maturity Indicators (SMI), which was believed to be the golden standard for skeletal maturation evaluation, 120 adolescents aged from 8.0 to 16.5 years old were selected and divided into four groups. Each group consists of 30 people. The lateral cephalograms were grouped in double-blind trials and the maturation of cervical vertebrae was estimated by senior experts (SE) and postgraduate students (PS). The accuracy between QCVM and SMI was analyzed by Spearman rank correlation test and the repeatability of SE and PS was compared by ANOVA. Results　As for the accuracy, skeletal maturation evaluation by QCVM was consistent with that by Fishman Skeletal Maturity Indicators (SMI). As for the repeatability, there were no significant differences in both SE and PS (P>0.05). SE was relatively better than PS, but the differences did not achieve statistical significance. Conclusions　As for the application of QCVM，both SE and PS are good in accuracy and repeatability. QCVM could provide more objective and reliable basis for diagnosis and treatment in Orthodontics. Meanwhile it avoids an extra radiation exposure for the patients.