5 ms·
Reporting an accuracy of 85% doesn't mean much in a medical context. Reporting the Sensitivity/Specificity should be the norm.
by curiousgal 7y ago
Reporting an accuracy of 85% doesn't mean much in a medical context. Reporting the Sensitivity/Specificity should be the norm.
- empath75 7y agoAlso sort of pointless since most ear infections don’t need treatment.
- couchand 7y agoNot pointless at all. If you can track it easily at home and only visit the doctor when it becomes an issue that's a win for everyone.
- killjoywashere 7y agoAlso, the app could support an educational component: "You should see your doctor because diagnosis and testing may be more involved based on the evaluation of a trained professional. Some ear infections may surgery, while others may not even require antibiotics. See your doctor."
- empath75 7y agoMost people who find out their kid has an ear infection will take them to the doctor and demand antibiotics. Even if it’s viral.
- mrfusion 7y agoTell me more about this viral ear infection.
- whenchamenia 7y agoI am nearly deaf thanks to unattended childhood ear infections. You could not be more wrong.
- ars 7y agoIt would have had to have been unattended for a very long time. Current guidance is to wait a couple days to see if it clears up, and only if it doesn't after several days then see a doctor. You would not have hearing damage after just several days.
- lazyasciiart 7y agoThe context is that someone claimed it's pointless to even diagnose them. An undiagnosed problem isn't going to be following that guidance.
- ars 7y agoIt's not necessary to diagnose it until several days have passed. That's not to say just ignore the earache, but you don't have to go to the doctor to get a diagnosed for couple days. Only if it's still there after a couple days then go.
- gregopet 7y agoHere (Slovenia) you get told off severely if you don't come immediately when the pain starts. And if there's no pain but you feel a fluid buildup, you're supposed to get checked regularly until it subsides (am currently in that state, non-infected fluid buildup in my ear after a viral infection).
- danielscrubs 7y agoDoes your doctors have incentives for regular checkups?
- askvictor 7y agoEven if they don't need treatment, it's useful to know why your child is screaming/complaining.
- jdgiese 7y agoI am not a medical professional, so I may be getting some details wrong, but my understanding is that many pediatricians over-prescribe antibiotics for ear-infections (sometimes due to demands of the parents), and having additional information may help in this regard. Over-prescribing antibiotics is bad because (1) some children have serious allergic reactions to them (and sometimes these develop over time), (2) they contribute to the evolution of antibiotic resistance.
- diveanon 7y agoYou have no idea what you are talking about. Ear infections can be very serious. I work in scuba diving and an ear infection directly impacts my income for weeks at a time. Childhood ear infections can have a permanent impact and easily spread to sinuses and the jaw. I would like to know what makes you think you are qualified to spread such nonsense.
- dang 7y agoPlease don't make personal attacks in HN comments, regardless of how wrong some other commenter is. They break the site guidelines and ruin the informational value of what you're saying. Your comment would have been just fine without the first and fourth paragraphs. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- diveanon 7y agoYou are right, but can we please start flagging bad medical advice on this site. Otherwise we might as well allow anti-vax posts.
- dang 7y agoIn general we can't, because neither users nor moderators are in a position to judge bad medical advice. There are genuine medical experts on HN, but they only pop up occasionally.
- fmahaztra 7y agoMaking the diagnosis of any medical condition easier necessarily can't be pointless
- sytelus 7y agoAbsolutely not. Kids age < 4 get these all the time. When they cry or feel bad, you don't know if you want to go to doctor all the time. For poor people this is even more difficult decision. Ear infections when treated early can be much less painful or even dangerous. This kind of apps is definitely useful.
- Fnoord 7y ago> For poor people this is even more difficult decision. Depends where you live. In The Netherlands I get the doctor visits for my toddler reimbursed by (mandatory) insurance. My problem is rather that I need to make (precious) time for a doctor visit. Time is money.
- ekblom 7y agoThen why did you get a kid?
- Fnoord 7y agoEh, thanks for that (offensive) question, you're the first in my life who ever asked me that question. It is a good question though, so I'll address it (from my PoV, n=1). First of all, every parent in the world has this problem because as parent your time is limited. More so than non parents. There are some parents who outsource their children to (day)care. We don't have the financial means for that, but we'd also limit it regardless because contact with our child is important. Second, yes I've been wondering about that various times in the recent past, but for very different reasons (I have autism and get over-sensitized from children because of the unpredictability and the noise). Third, you don't know beforehand the exact problems you're going to face with your child. Not from your part, but even less from your child's PoV because you don't know how their personality is and how it is going to develop. Furthermore, you don't know for sure how your situation and the world is going to develop. Money and time are both limiting factors. While in The Netherlands the doctor visits are reimbursed via insurance, the limiting time factor remains. I would make time for my kid when required. The problem is that you never know for sure when it is required. Because you don't know for sure when your kid is really ill. Its a risk assessment, in the end. Right now, she has the sixth disease (Roseola) which is the first time she got really ill, and it seems like a harmless virus.
- rdruxn 7y agoYou're correct. They included a link to the actual paper: https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/11/492/eaav1102 https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/11/492/eaav1102 According to the paper, they achieved 85% sensitivity and 82% specificity (N=98)