The GP and the ear
Reviewed by Badr El Mostafa

General practitioners are the first members of the medical community to deal with ear problems. In this survey, 11 GPs examined 124 patients using a regular otoscope and a video-otoscope and reported their findings in a 10-item table. The same patients were also evaluated by two ENT surgeons who filled the same diagnostic table. Although there was a statistically significant difference between the performance of ENT surgeon and GPs in the interpretation of normal otoscopic views, there was no statistically significant difference in the interpretation of video-otoscopic images. This may be due to the fact that endoscopic pictures are clearer, similar to textbook images, and that the physician has enough time to look at the drum membrane in contrast to the fleeting image in a crying kid. Another advantage may also be the possibility of sharing and consulting with a specialist via electronic media.

Interet de la video-otoscopie en medicine generale.
Damery L, Lescanne E, Reffet K, et al.
ANN FRANC D’OTO-RHINO LARYNGOL PATH CEVIC-FAC
2019;136:13-7.