Thorbjörn Lundberg1, Leigh Biagio de Jager2, De Wet Swanepoel3, Claude Laurent4. 1. Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine, Umea University, S-901 87 Umea, Sweden. Electronic address: thorbjorn.Lundberg@umu.se. 2. Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. 3. Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Ear Science Institute Australia, Subiaco, Australia; Ear Sciences Centre, School of Surgery, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia. 4. Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Clinical Science, ENT-Unit, Umea University, Umea, Sweden.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Video-otoscopy is rapidly developing as a new method to diagnose common ear disease and can be performed by trained health care facilitators as well as by clinicians. This study aimed to compare remote asynchronous assessments of video-otoscopy with otoscopy performed by a general practitioner. METHOD: Children, aged 2-16 years, attending a health center in Johannesburg, South Africa, were examined. An otologist performed otomicroscopy and a general practitioner performed otoscopy. Video-otoscopy was performed by a health care facilitator and video sequences were stored on a server for assessment by the same general practitioner 4 and 8 weeks later. At all examinations, a diagnosis was set and the tympanic membrane appearance was graded using the OMgrade-scale. The otologist's otomicroscopic diagnosis was set as reference standard to compare the accuracy of the two otoscopic methods. RESULTS: Diagnostic agreement between otologist's otomicroscopic examination and the general practitioner's otoscopic examination was substantial (kappa 0.66). Agreement between onsite otomicroscopy and the general practitioners asynchronous video assessments were also substantial (kappa 0.70 and 0.80). CONCLUSION: Video-otoscopy performed by a health care facilitator and assessed asynchronously by a general practitioner had similar or better accuracy compared to face-to-face otoscopy performed by a general practitioner.
OBJECTIVE: Video-otoscopy is rapidly developing as a new method to diagnose common ear disease and can be performed by trained health care facilitators as well as by clinicians. This study aimed to compare remote asynchronous assessments of video-otoscopy with otoscopy performed by a general practitioner. METHOD:Children, aged 2-16 years, attending a health center in Johannesburg, South Africa, were examined. An otologist performed otomicroscopy and a general practitioner performed otoscopy. Video-otoscopy was performed by a health care facilitator and video sequences were stored on a server for assessment by the same general practitioner 4 and 8 weeks later. At all examinations, a diagnosis was set and the tympanic membrane appearance was graded using the OMgrade-scale. The otologist's otomicroscopic diagnosis was set as reference standard to compare the accuracy of the two otoscopic methods. RESULTS: Diagnostic agreement between otologist's otomicroscopic examination and the general practitioner's otoscopic examination was substantial (kappa 0.66). Agreement between onsite otomicroscopy and the general practitioners asynchronous video assessments were also substantial (kappa 0.70 and 0.80). CONCLUSION: Video-otoscopy performed by a health care facilitator and assessed asynchronously by a general practitioner had similar or better accuracy compared to face-to-face otoscopy performed by a general practitioner.
Authors: Moneeb Akhtar; Paul G Van Heukelom; Azeemuddin Ahmed; Rachel D Tranter; Erinn White; Nathaniel Shekem; David Walz; Catherine Fairfield; J Priyanka Vakkalanka; Nicholas M Mohr Journal: Telemed J E Health Date: 2018-02-22 Impact factor: 3.536
Authors: Kelvin Kong; Alan Cass; Amanda Jane Leach; Peter Stanley Morris; Amy Kimber; Jiunn-Yih Su; Victor Maduabuchi Oguoma Journal: Trials Date: 2021-06-16 Impact factor: 2.279