A comparison between penlight and otoscopic examination of the ear canal and tympanic membrane among grade 1 students.
- Author:
May Cristine L. Obana
;
Cecilia Gretchen Navarro-Locsin
;
Maria Rina Reyes-Quintos
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Penlight Examination;
Otoscopic Examination;
Ear Canal;
- MeSH:
Tympanic Membrane
- From:
The Philippine Children’s Medical Center Journal
2019;15(2):65-77
- CountryPhilippines
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND:In the Philippines, screening for ear problems especially in children at entry to
school is usually undertaken by school nurses and teachers who typically do not have specialized
instrumentation. The penlight has recently been employed as screening method in determing the
possibilities of ear problems in public school communities. This study attempts to determine the
accuracy of the penlight as an alternative method for screening to assess the common external ear
abnormalities among Grade 1 students in an elementary school.
OBJECTIVES:1. To compare the result of otologic examination using the penlight versus otoscopy
in determining of common pediatric ear problems. 2. To determine the sensitivity, specificity and
predictive values of penlight examination in the screening of ear canal and tympanic membrane for
abnormal conditions among Grade 1 students.
METHODS:Otologic examination with the use of a penlight was carried out by the tranined nurse in
ears of Grade 1 students and the results compared with those obtained from otoscopy done by an
otolaryngologist. Presence of ear conditions such as cerumen, discharge, foreign body, tympanic
membrane visualization, and an overall assessment were recorded in an Excel file. The examiners were
both blinded with the findings.
RESULTS:Ninety-four students (188 test ears) with a median age of 6 years, ranging from 5 to 10
years, and a 1:1 sex distribution were included in the study. The result showed an excellent agreement
(P<.001) between the penlight and otoscopic examination. The sensitivity and specificity were of
98.6% and 100%, respectively. The PPV is nearly 100% and NPV of 95.2% and and overall accuracy
of 98.94%.
CONCLUSIONS:There is an excellent agreement between the nurse‘s findings and
otolaryngologist‘s findings in examining the ear canal and tympanic membrane. The penlight has on
overall accuracy of 98.94%, in identifying cerumen, discharge, foreign body and visualizing the
tympanic membrane. Thus, this study shows that with trained nurse in otologic examination, the
penlight is an effective screening in identifying common ear problem among children.
- Full text:A comparison between penlight and otoscopic.pdf
