[Reliability of the diagnosis of acute otitis media by general practitioners].
OBJECTIVE
To assess reliability of the diagnosis of Acute Otitis Media (AOM) given by General Practitioners (GPs) compared with the diagnosis of Otorhinolaryngologists (ORLs) considered as the reference diagnosis.


METHODS
Every GP had to include 6 children aged 1 to 4 years for whom he suspected or diagnosed AOM. Parents had to accept to consult the ORL participating in the survey within 48 h.


RESULTS
24 GPs took part in the survey and included at least 1 child, which amounts to a final 57% acceptability rate. Two hundred and eight eardrums were included in the survey. 21.9% of assumptions or diagnosis of AOM (30/137) were declared null by the ORL. GPs diagnose AOM with certainty only in 54% of all cases. The diagnosis and the assumption of AOM were respectively confirmed in 83.8% of all cases and 71.4% by the ORL. The combination of redness and bulge and isolated redness accounted for respectively 44.3% and 26.2% of the main otoscopical factors reminiscent of the AOM according to GPs. In the case of redness plus bulge, the diagnosis was confirmed in 83% of all cases by the ORL as opposed to 75% regarding the isolated redness. AOM was suspected in 57.1% of the eardrums little or not visible with no sign of infection and was not confirmed in 25% of all cases.


CONCLUSIONS
The global overdiagnosis was 21.9% and 25% when the otoscopy is hindered by the presence of cerumen or when the eardrums show inflammation alone. Even though the overdiagnosis was lower than the reported one in literature, post-graduate teaching on the various cerumen removal techniques and the use of pneumatic otoscopy should contribute to improve the quality of diagnosing AOM.
Legros
J-M
JM
Département Universitaire de Santé Publique, CHU d'Angers, 49933 Angers cedex 09, France.
Hitoto
H
H
Garnier
F
F
Dagorne
C
C
Dubin
J
J
Fanello
S
S
D000208:Acute Disease; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D038781:Otoscopy; D010821:Physicians, Family; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents