Video Discharge Instructions for Acute Otitis Media

Providing patients with understandable, comprehensive discharge instructions improves compliance, thereby reducing symptoms and the functional impact of illness. Comprehensive discharge instructions also reduce patient anxiety and increases satisfaction. Unfortunately, in a busy emergency department (ED), discharge instructions are often incomplete. Furthermore, even when discharge instructions have been provided, patients often have difficulty comprehending and/or recalling them. Inadequate discharge instructions are linked to medication errors, suboptimal care post-discharge, and unnecessary return visits to the ED. Patient dissatisfaction with discharge instructions and anxiety have also been linked to poor medication compliance, and an increase in return visits.

Studies have demonstrated that knowledge of pediatric medical conditions can be enhanced through the use of video technology. Specifically, it has been shown that when video discharge instructions are used in place of, or to complement written discharge instructions, patients have a better understanding of their illness and report higher rates of satisfaction. However, no studies to date have explored if clinically relevant outcomes such as symptomatology, function and recidivism can be improved.

This study will examine the utility of video discharge instructions for the diagnosis of acute otitis media (AOM), a leading cause of health care visits among children. AOM affects up to 75% of children before school-age and is the most common illness for which antibiotics are prescribed to children in the United States. In Canada, AOM is associated with substantial use of health services (3.1 hours in an emergency department and 1.8 hours in an outpatient clinic on average per visit) and significantly burdens caregivers in the form of time spent on medical consultations, and time taken off from work. An American study estimated that the cost of one episode of AOM in a 3-month period following diagnosis was $1330.58, with the majority of that cost stemming from the indirect costs of illness, 90% of which was accrued primarily by parental time off work. In Quebec, the total annual cost to the health care system for otitis media and placement of tympanostomy tubes is more than $10 million dollars.

Pain is often substantial in the early course of AOM. Poorly controlled pain is associated with suffering and can be emotionally traumatic, causing anxiety for patients and their caregivers. Efficacious treatment for child pain is paramount in preventing protracted sensitivity to pain. Despite the magnitude of effects that acute pain can have on a child, it is often inadequately assessed and treated. In children less than two years of age, 30% of children continue to experience pain, fever, or both for up to 7 into the illness, thus highlighting the importance of caregiver education on symptom management.

Recurrent AOM is common, 5-15% of children under the age of 2 experience four or more episodes per year. Caregivers of children with recurrent AOM not only judge their child's quality of life markedly lower than caregivers of children of a general population, but also lower than those of children with mild-to-moderately severe chronic conditions. Although uncommon, AOM also has the potential to cause serious complications such as, mastoiditis and bacterial meningitis, if not treated and monitored appropriately.

The investigators hypothesize that video discharge instructions directed at caregivers of children with AOM will be associated with improved symptomatology and functional outcomes, along with improved caregiver knowledge, satisfaction, and anxiety compared to the standard of care, paper-based discharge instructions.

Inclusion criteria

• All primary caregivers of children aged 6 months to 17 years presenting to the Emergency Department of the Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario
• Clinical diagnosis of AOM in the context of an upper respiratory tract infection as determined by the treating emergency physician (staff physician or fellow). The treating physician will be asked to rate, using a 10 mm visual analog scale, the likelihood that the patient has AOM using previously published diagnostic criteria. - Physician reports being at least 50% certain, on a visual analog scale in the diagnosis of AOM.

Exclusion criteria

• Caregivers whose children have other diagnoses (pneumonia, urinary tract infection, gastroenteritis, or any other condition requiring antibiotics or admission to hospital)
• Previous diagnosis of AOM within 7 days
• Tympanostomy tubes
• Acute tympanic membrane perforation
• Attending caregiver who is not the primary care provider
• Poor English fluency
• Lack of at least a grade 8 literacy level
• No Internet access
• No telephone access for 72 hours following discharge