NCT02918773

Pediatric Emergency Department Smartphone Otoscope Study (PED-Oto)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 22 (actual)
• Sponsor: Emory University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Acute otitis media (AOM), defined as acute inflammation in the middle ear, is a leading cause of health encounters and antimicrobial prescriptions in children worldwide. Diagnosis of AOM is often dependent on a brief view of the tympanic membrane in an uncooperative child's ear canal. As a consequence, AOM may be inappropriately diagnosed when visualization of the tympanic membrane (ear drum) is not optimal. Improved methods for visualizing the tympanic membrane including capturing still images and recording video of the ear exam would be beneficial in the diagnosis and management of otic complaints, including acute and chronic otitis media. Use of a smartphone otoscope has the potential to optimize clinician ability to manage otic complaints, visualize the tympanic membrane, and support antimicrobial stewardship. This study will be conducted as a randomized control study in two affiliated children's hospital emergency departments. Twenty volunteer clinicians will be randomly assigned to use either a smartphone otoscope or a conventional otoscope for all otic examinations for a 6-month period.

Detailed description

A smartphone otoscope (CellScope-Oto) is a pocket size attachment that employs the technology and light source of a smartphone to capture reproducible images of the ear canal and tympanic membrane. Previous studies with this device demonstrated that images taken with both the smartphone otoscope and a camera-fitted conventional analogue otoscope were equivalent with respect to image quality and that the smartphone otoscope was acceptable as an educational and diagnostic tool to health professional students. A pilot study with a similar design to this study conducted in two offices of an ambulatory pediatric clinic demonstrated a trend toward decreased antimicrobial prescription filling among families whose children were examined with the smartphone otoscope compared to those who were examined with a conventional otoscope. To further assess this trend, this study proposes an evaluation of the impact of device use on antimicrobial prescribing for children with an otic complaint in a pediatric emergency department (PED) setting. This study will enroll 20 clinicians for the 6-month study period; 10 who will be randomly assigned to use a smartphone otoscope for the 6-month study period and 10 who will be assigned to use a conventional otoscope for all otoscopic exams. Data will be abstracted via retrospective review of the electronic medical record of encounters in with an otoscopic exam was performed as part of the diagnostic evaluation.

Conditions

• Acute Otitis Media
• Acute Otitis Externa

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Smartphone otoscope	A smartphone otoscope is a pocket size smartphone attachment that uses the technology and light source of a smartphone to capture reproducible images of the ear canal and tympanic membrane. The smartphone otoscope has the capability to capture still images and video, which can be referred to post-examination as well as be incorporated into an electronic medical record. Clinicians will use the smartphone otoscope for the duration of the 6-month study period.
DEVICE	Conventional otoscope	A conventional otoscope has a light and lenses to provide a view of the ear canal and tympanic membrane or eardrum. Clinicians will use the conventional otoscope for the duration of the 6-month study period.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-10-15
• Primary completion: 2017-04-15
• Completion: 2017-04-15
• First posted: 2016-09-29
• Last updated: 2018-07-13
• Results posted: 2018-07-13

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States