Telemedicine for ear diseases with the smartphone otoscopes via WeChat in the COVID-19 era.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes and satisfaction of ear patients who participated in the smartphone otoscopes telemedicine via WeChat.
Methods: Patients in this study included newly diagnosed outpatients and online patients who did not undergo an outpatient diagnosis. Patients performed regular ear self-examinations, took pictures at home using their smartphone endoscopes, and submitted images to a WeChat community. Otolaryngologist gave timely online feedback. All of the following data were recorded: patients age and gender, disease duration, outpatient diagnosis, side, telemedicine duration, number of telemedicine visits, outcomes, satisfaction.
Results: A total of 74 patients were included in the study, including 39 males and 35 females, with an average age of 31.1 ± 13.7 years (range 4-55 years). Of these patients, 68 were outpatients, and 6 directly participated in telemedicine online. The patient's disease duration ranged from 1 day to 15 days, with an average of 4.0 ± 3.0 days. The mean duration was 8.1 days (range: 3-21 days) for telemedicine. The mean number of visits was 2.7 times (range: 2-6 times) for telemedicine. 68 (91.9%) of the 74 patients were cured, 6 (8.1%) were improved, and 0 (0%) were ineffective. Almost all patients were pleased with the telemedicine service, 71.9 0% were very satisfied (n = 62), 28.10% were very satisfied (n = 11), and 0% were dissatisfied (n = 0).
Conclusions: Smartphone otoscopes telemedicine can decrease outpatient follow-up, reduce the risk of cross-infection, increase telemedicine accuracy, and improve patient satisfaction. It is worthy of clinical application in the COVID-19 era.
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