A systematic review of remote otological assessment using video-otoscopy over the past 10 years: reliability and applications

PURPOSE: This systematic review describes and evaluates the current literature on remote otological assessment using video-otoscopy with regards to reliability and potential applications. METHODS: Systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement. There was heterogeneity of included studies, so a descriptive analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: Seventeen studies were included for analysis conducted across a variety of healthcare settings. Overall, there was a trend towards acquisition of adequate images for diagnosis by non-otolaryngology-specialist facilitators with reasonable agreement between asynchronous images and controls; however, there was significant variation between the studies. CONCLUSION: Remote otological assessment using video-otoscopy shows potential as a safe and effective method for detecting the presence of ear disease in a wide range of healthcare settings. Barriers to the acquisition of adequate images include the presence of obstructing cerumen, and strategies to deal with this should be considered. Further work is required to evaluate endoscope-based systems to assess whether they will allow the acquisition of higher quality images.