Inter-rater reliability between inexperienced and experienced raters using a rabbit sedation scale.

Rabbit sedation scale reliably assesses sedation depth regardless of rater experience level.

This experimental study evaluated the inter-rater reliability of a published rabbit sedation scale comparing inexperienced raters (veterinary students) with experienced raters (board-certified diplomates). Sixteen rabbits aged 3-4 months received premedication with either midazolam-butorphanol or midazolam-methadone combinations. Six raters (two experienced, four inexperienced) independently assessed sedation before and at 10 and 20 minutes post-administration using the sedation scale. Statistical analysis employed weighted kappa, Gwet's AC2, Krippendorff's α, and Lin's concordance correlation coefficient. Results demonstrated excellent agreement among experienced raters (κ=0.981, Gwet's AC2=0.973) and substantial agreement among inexperienced raters (α=0.658, Gwet's AC2=0.741). Significant differences existed between experienced and inexperienced rater groups (p=0.001), though the sedation protocol did not significantly affect agreement (p=0.084). The findings indicate the sedation scale maintains reliability across both rater experience levels, supporting its clinical utility in rabbit anesthesia assessment.

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