Objective: Measurement of respiratory rate is an important clinical sign in the diagnosis of pneumonia but suffers from interobserver variation. Here, we assess the use of video recordings as a quality assurance tool that could be useful both in research and in training of staff.
Methods: Respiratory rates (RR) were recorded in children aged 2-59 months presenting with cough or difficulty breathing at two busy outpatient clinics in Tanzania. Measurements were repeated at 10-min intervals in a quiet environment with simultaneous video recordings that were independently reviewed by two paediatricians.
Results: Eight hundred and fifty-nine videos were sent to two paediatricians; 148 (17.2%) were considered unreadable by one or both. For the 711 (82.8%) videos that were readable by both paediatricians, there was perfect agreement for the presence of raised RR with a kappa value (κ) of 0.85 (P < 0.001); and in 476 (66.9%) cases, both paediatricians agreed on the RR within 2 breaths per minute (±2 bpm). A reported illness of 5 days or more was associated with unreadable video recordings (OR = 3.44, CI: 1.5-6.08; P < 0.001). The multilevel model showed that differences between observers accounted for only 13% of the variability in RR.
Conclusion: Video recordings are reliable tools for quality assurance of RR measurements in children with suspected pneumonia. Videos with a clear view of respiratory movements may also be useful in training primary healthcare staff.
Objectif: La mesure de la fréquence respiratoire est un paramètre clinique important dans le diagnostic de la pneumonie mais souffre de variations inter‐observateurs. Nous évaluons ici l'utilisation des enregistrements vidéo comme un outil d'assurance de la qualité qui pourrait être utile tant pour la recherche que pour la formation du personnel.
Méthodes:
Les fréquences respiratoires (
Résultats:
859 vidéos ont été envoyées à 2 pédiatres. 148 (17.2%) vidéos ont été jugées illisibles par l'un ou les deux. Pour les 711 vidéos (82.8%) lisibles par les deux pédiatres, il y avait un accord parfait pour la présence de
Conclusion:
Les enregistrements vidéo sont des outils fiables pour l'assurance de la qualité des mesures de la
Mots‐clés: pneumonie; fréquences respiratoires; enfants; Video; Variabilité.
Objetivo: La frecuencia respiratoria es un signo clínico importante en el diagnóstico de la neumonía pero se ve afectada por la variación interobservador. Hemos evaluado el uso de grabaciones de vídeo como una herramienta de control de calidad que podría ser útil tanto en investigación como para entrenar al personal sanitario.
Métodos:
Se midió la frecuencia respiratoria (
Resultados:
Se enviaron 859 videos a 2 pediatras. 148 (17.2%) se consideraron ilegibles por uno o por ambos. En los 711 (82.8%) considerados legibles por los dos pediatras, había una concordancia perfecta de
Conclusión:
Las grabaciones en video son herramientas fiables para asegurar la calidad de las medidas de
Palabras clave: frecuencia respiratoria; neumonía; Variabilidad; niños; video.
Keywords: children; integrated management of childhood illness; pneumonia; respiratory rate; variability; video.
© 2016 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.