Evaluating the Reliability and Accuracy of Senior Veterinary Students in Detecting and Scoring Lameness in Dairy Cows.

Abstract

Background: Lameness detection is essential for effective dairy cattle management, with accurate diagnosis improving animal welfare and reducing economic losses. Senior veterinary students must acquire these skills before graduation to ensure competent diagnosis in the field.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of senior veterinary students in detecting and scoring lameness in dairy cows.

Methods: The study included 201 senior veterinary students who scored lameness in cows using video recordings and a 5-point scoring system. Students' lameness scores were compared to those assigned by an experienced observer using a confusion matrix, with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy calculated. Intra-rater reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients, while inter-rater reliability was evaluated using Krippendorff's alpha. Binary logistic regression was performed to assess the impact of lameness severity on detection accuracy.

Results: Students demonstrated high accuracy for severe lameness (93.67%) and healthy cases (85.93%), with sensitivities of 75.84% and 74.46%, respectively. However, sensitivity for mild to moderate lameness was lowest. Specificity ranged from 81.87% for mild cases to 98.12% for severe cases. Inter- and intra-rater reliability showed various agreement coefficients across lameness categories. Logistic regression indicated decreased accuracy with increasing lameness severity.

Conclusion: Gaps in detecting intermediate lameness highlight the need for enhanced training methods in veterinary education. Integrating advanced tools can improve diagnostic accuracy and support better lameness detection in practice.