Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T01:32:10.936Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pneumatic otoscopy: Study of inter-observer variability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

B. T. Mains  and
J. G. Toner
B. T. Mains*
Affiliation:
Belfast
J. G. Toner
Affiliation:
Belfast
*
Brian T Mains FRCS 4 Eglantine GardensBelfast BT9 6EZ
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The degree of inter-observer variability in the results of pneumatic otoscopy, used to predict the presence or absence of middle ear effusion was assessed. A group of 114 patients with 209 suitable ears had pneumatic otoscopy using a Seigle's speculum performed independently by two observers. The results were compared to the findings at myringotomy, on the basis that mobility of the tympanic membrane was indicative of a dry middle ear. The observers agreed in 187 ears, a concordance rate of 91 per cent, and in 174 of these (93 per cent) the observers' prediction of middle ear state was correct. The overall predictive accuracy of observer A was 89 per cent and of observer B 84 per cent, this difference is not statistically significant, p> 0.05.

Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 103 , Issue 12 , December 1989 , pp. 1134 - 1135
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Gates, G. A., Avery, C., Cooper, J. C., Hearne, E. M. and Holt, G. R. (1986) Predictive value of tympanometry in middle ear effusion. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology 95: 46–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gimsing, S. and Bergholtz, L. M. (1983) Otoscopy compared with tympanometry (a study evaluating the accuracy of otoscopy in 1702 unselected ears). Journal of Laryngology and Otology 97: 587–591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mills, R. P. (1987) Tympanometry and otoscopy in middle ear effusion. Clinical Otolaryngology 12: 97–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paradise, J. L., Smith, C. G., Bluestone, C. D. (1976) Tympanometric detection of middle ear effusion in infants and children. Pediatrics 58: 198–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar