Feasibility and Acceptability of Pediatric Smartphone Lung Auscultation by Parents: Cross-Sectional Study

Autores da FMUP

• Maria Inês Ferreira Agueda De Azevedo

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Santos Silva, C
• Ferreira Cardoso, H
• Silva, S
• Vieira Marques, P
• Valente, JC
• Almeida, R
• Fonseca, JA
• Santos, C
• Jacome, C

Unidades de investigação

• Ginecologia-Obstetrícia e Pediatria

Abstract

Background: The use of a smartphone built-in microphone for auscultation is a feasible alternative to the use of a stethoscope, when applied by physicians. Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to assess the feasibility of this technology when used by parents-the real intended end users. Methods: Physicians recruited 46 children (male: n=33, 72%; age: mean 11.3, SD 3.1 y; children with asthma: n=24, 52%) during medical visits in a pediatric department of a tertiary hospital. Smartphone auscultation using an app was performed at 4 locations (trachea, right anterior chest, and right and left lung bases), first by a physician (recordings: n=297) and later by a parent (recordings: n=344). All recordings (N=641) were classified by 3 annotators for quality and the presence of adventitious sounds. Parents completed a questionnaire to provide feedback on the app, using a Likert scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). Results: Most recordings had quality (physicians recordings: 253/297, 85.2%; parents recordings: 266/346, 76.9%). The proportions of physicians recordings (34/253, 13.4%) and parents recordings (31/266, 11.7%) with adventitious sounds were similar. Parents found the app easy to use (questionnaire: median 5, IQR 5-5) and were willing to use it (questionnaire: median 5, IQR 5-5). Conclusions: Our results show that smartphone auscultation is feasible when performed by parents in the clinical context, but further investigation is needed to test its feasibility in real life.

Keywords

• respiratory sounds; respiratory; respiration; lung; lungs; pulmonary; breathing; sound; sounds; wheeze; crackle; child; children; pediatric; pediatrics; parent; parents; parenting; asthma; auscultation; smartphone; mobile applications; mHealth; mobile health; app; apps; applications; crackles; wheezes; wheezing; participation; patient participation; willingness; adoption; acceptance; usability; attitude; attitudes; opinion; perception; perceptions; smartphones; intent; ease of use; survey; surveys; questionnaire; questionnaires; mobile phone