TY  - JOUR
AU  - Santos-Silva, Catarina
AU  - Ferreira-Cardoso, Henrique
AU  - Silva, Sónia
AU  - Vieira-Marques, Pedro
AU  - Valente, José Carlos
AU  - Almeida, Rute
AU  - A Fonseca, João
AU  - Santos, Cristina
AU  - Azevedo, Inês
AU  - Jácome, Cristina
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/4/8
TI  - Feasibility and Acceptability of Pediatric Smartphone Lung Auscultation by Parents: Cross-Sectional Study
JO  - JMIR Pediatr Parent
SP  - e52540
VL  - 7
KW  - respiratory sounds
KW  - respiratory
KW  - respiration
KW  - lung
KW  - lungs
KW  - pulmonary
KW  - breathing
KW  - sound
KW  - sounds
KW  - wheeze
KW  - crackle
KW  - child
KW  - children
KW  - pediatric
KW  - pediatrics
KW  - parent
KW  - parents
KW  - parenting
KW  - asthma
KW  - auscultation
KW  - smartphone
KW  - mobile applications
KW  - mHealth
KW  - mobile health
KW  - app
KW  - apps
KW  - applications
KW  - crackles
KW  - wheezes
KW  - wheezing
KW  - participation
KW  - patient participation
KW  - willingness
KW  - adoption
KW  - acceptance
KW  - usability
KW  - attitude
KW  - attitudes
KW  - opinion
KW  - perception
KW  - perceptions
KW  - smartphones
KW  - intent
KW  - ease of use
KW  - survey
KW  - surveys
KW  - questionnaire
KW  - questionnaires
KW  - mobile phone
AB  - 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. 
SN  - 2561-6722
UR  - https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2024/1/e52540
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/52540
DO  - 10.2196/52540
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/52540
ER  -