OBJECTIVE: Spectral gradient acoustic reflectometry (SG-AR) can be used to detect @entity2171 ( @entity2171 ). Since both families and primary health care systems carry the @entity2346 media, our aim was to determine whether layman parents could be taught to use the SG-AR reliably. METHODS: We enrolled 359 @entity1 (age 6-35 months) whose parents were willing to use SG-AR at home. The parents were asked to perform bilateral SG-AR daily on their @entity1 . In this study, we included @entity1 who had undergone successful parental home SG-AR examination performed on the same day that a physician had also performed successful SG-AR examination and pneumatic otoscopy at the study clinic. We compared the parental and study physician SG-AR examination results to the study physicians' pneumatic otoscopy, which served as the diagnostic standard. RESULTS: We analyzed 571 successful parental home SG-AR examinations performed on the same day that a study physician had performed a successful SG-AR examination and pneumatic otoscopy at the study clinic. None of the evaluated SG-AR level combinations resulted in both high sensitivity and specificity. For symptomatic visits, the negative predictive value of a parental SG-AR level 1 to detect @entity2171 was 64%. For parental SG-AR levels 4-5, the positive predictive value to detect @entity2171 was 88%. However, for asymptomatic visits, the negative predictive value of a parental SG-AR level 1 to detect @entity2171 was 83%. CONCLUSION: This study showed that layman parents are able to use the SG-AR technically successfully. In symptomatic @entity1 , parentally obtained SG-AR level 1 examination is not adequate to exclude @entity2171 . However, parentally obtained SG-AR levels 4-5 do indicate the presence of @entity2171 . At the same time, in asymptomatic @entity1 , parentally obtained SG-AR level 1 examination seems to indicate a healthy middle ear. From the perspective of primary care, the implementation of parental SG-AR examinations in the diagnostic chain of @entity2346 media would be intriguing. This study showed that the possibilities lie in the follow up of the resolution of @entity2171 after an episode of OM in asymptomatic @entity1 . However, it seems that currently, the SG-AR technique is an obstacle for wider clinical implementation.

Parental role in the diagnostics of XXXX media: can layman parents use spectral gradient acoustic reflectometry reliably?

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'child'] @entity2171 :: ('MESH:D010034', 'Disease') :: ['MEE', 'middle ear effusion'] @entity2346 :: ('MESH:D010031', 'Disease') :: ['otitis', 'burden of otitis']
@entity2346 :: (MESH:D010031,Disease) :: ['otitis']
