The use of camera mobile phone to assess emergency ENT radiological investigations

A systematic review of outcomes of remote consultation in ENT

AIMS

Remote or tele-consultation has become an emerging modality of consultation in many specialities, including ENT. Advantages include increasing accessibility, potential to reduce costs and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced risk of infection transmission. Here, we systematically collate and synthesise the evidence base on outcomes from remote consultation in adult and paediatric ENT services.

METHODS

We performed a review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. We searched Medline and Embase for relevant articles. Outcomes include specific patient pathway efficiency measures (including number of healthcare visits, lead time, touch time and handoff), patient/clinician satisfaction, cost analysis and safety implications.

RESULTS

From 6325 articles screened, 53 met inclusion criteria. Publications included studies on remote consultation for initial, preoperative and follow-up assessment (including postoperative). In most instances, remote consultation reduced costs and time from referral to assessment and was associated with high patient satisfaction. However, a face-to-face follow-up appointment was required in 13%-72% of initial consultations, suggesting that remote consultation is only appropriate in selected cases.

CONCLUSION

Remote consultation is appropriate and preferable for ENT consultation in specific conditions and circumstances. Future research should look to better define those conditions and circumstances, and report using recognised quality standards and outcome measures.

[Interdisciplinary teleconsultation: first practical experiences with 100 patients]

PROBLEM DEFINITION: Increasing specialization can be observed in the various medical fields and as a consequence there is little professional exchange between ear nose and throat (ENT) specialists and general practitioners. At the same time there has been significant technological development in telemedicine over the last 5 years; however, this potential is not being sufficiently exploited. The objective of this project is to implement a practicable solution for teleconsulation between ENT specialists and general practitioners.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The connection is based on a secure broadband internet connection, the corresponding server structure and a video endoscopic system. In the period from 01 January 2011 to 30 June 2012 (18 months) a total of 102 patients were included in the study in which 4 general practitioners and 5 ENT specialists participated. The protocol comprised the following parameters: indications and typical questions, number of patients presenting to the ENT specialist due to the available teleconsultation service (CBO), number of patients referred to the ENT specialist after teleconsultation (CIO), assessment of the quality of the additional expert opinion (LOQ GP), assessment of the accuracy of the specialist physician tele-diagnosis (TDS-FA) and assessment of the impact of the expert physician diagnosis on the general medical treatment (COS).

RESULTS

Teleconsultation was most frequently used for diagnostics on tonsils (37% of the presented cases), the external auditory canal (32%) and the inner nose (15%). Of the patients analyzed were 53.9% presented to the ENT specialist only because the teleconsultation service provided an effortless opportunity and after teleconsultation 40.1% of the patients were referred to the ENT specialist. General practitioners assessed the benefit from the specialist opinion with 64 points. Diagnostic certainty of the specialist opinion, i.e. the validity scale of the diagnosis made, was on average 2.0. In approximately 35.3% of the cases (36 out of 102 patients) participating general practitioners documented a considerable impact of teleconsultation on the diagnosis and/or therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Teleconsultation between general practitioners and ENT specialists can provide an advantage in treatment quality and patient comfort. According to the experience gained there is a very low risk of diminishing the professional competency of ENT medicine and the involvement of the expert group in the early project stage allows a greater leeway in project implementation. This could also have an impact on future medical performance specifications. According to the ENT experts involved in the project further applications of teleconsultation are very conceivable.

Reliability and validity of a mobile phone for radiographic assessment of ankle injuries: a randomized inter- and intraobserver agreement study

BACKGROUND

Current mobile phone technology may allow orthopaedic surgeons to make clinical decisions using radiographs viewed on a small mobile device screen. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of interpreting ankle fracture images viewed on a mobile device and a computer monitor, with a hypothesis that the agreement in clinical decision making between the mobile device and computer monitor would be high.

METHODS

A randomized interobserver and intraobserver reliability study was conducted in which 16 mortise and lateral ankle images representing a severity spectrum of malleolar ankle, plafond, and extra-articular tibial fractures were shown to volunteer orthopaedic surgeons on both an Apple fourth-generation iPod Touch and a 23-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) computer monitor. Participants answered a multiple-choice questionnaire for each image regarding diagnosis, severity, need for higher level imaging, need for acute inpatient versus outpatient management, and plan of treatment. Inter- and intraobserver reliability was assessed by kappa (κ), multirater kappa statistics, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

Ninety-three orthopaedic surgeon volunteers completed the study. Excellent intraobserver agreement (κ ≥ 0.8) was found for all variables measured, including diagnosis (median κ = 0.84), need for computed tomography scan (κ = 0.86), need for reduction (κ = 0.82), treatment setting (κ = 0.82), and treatment type (κ = 0.87). Interobserver agreement was consistent between the mobile device and computer screen. Interobserver agreement for the severity assessment had a slightly higher ICC for the mobile device compared with the computer monitor (ICC = 0.83 vs 0.79). Sixty-seven percent (62/93) said at the completion of the study they were "completely" or "very" comfortable using a mobile device as a primary viewing device for new emergency room, inpatient, or transfer request consults.

CONCLUSIONS

Strong reliability for radiographic assessment of ankle injuries existed between a 23-inch computer monitor and a handheld mobile device. Further study is warranted to validate the technology to apply to other anatomic locations and imaging modalities.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level II, diagnostic study.