Wispr Featured in International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology

A recent study titled Digital versus traditional otoscopy in the diagnosis of acute otitis media in the pediatric primary care clinic was published in the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. The study tested if the use of digital otoscopes could reduce the number of antibiotics prescribed for ear infections compared to care given with traditional analog otoscopes.

The study's results demonstrated that the Wispr Digital Otoscope can significantly reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for acute otitis media (AOM) through improved diagnostic accuracy and patient communication, as well as improving the ear exam experience for both patients and providers.

Conducted at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center and San Francisco Mission Bay Medical Offices, the study evaluated the impact of digital otoscopy in over 600 pediatric visits—and the results mark a major advancement in the care of the most common indication for antibiotics in children.

“Our results demonstrate a significant decrease in both the number of visits associated with the index diagnoses as well as the number of antibiotic prescriptions”

Over the course of the 8-week study, when receiving care with a WiscMed Wispr digital otoscope, the average number of visits per patient decreased from 1.14 to 1.00 (p = 0.007), and antibiotic prescriptions per patient dropped from 0.88 to 0.57 (p = 0.0008) [1]. These findings support growing evidence that digital otoscopy can be a powerful tool for antibiotic stewardship, addressing a critical challenge in modern pediatrics.

Why is it so critical to improve diagnostic accuracy for AOM?

Acute otitis media is the leading indication for antibiotics in children, with nearly 80% experiencing at least one episode by age three [2]. Overprescription of antibiotics contributes to rising rates of antimicrobial resistance and increases healthcare utilization costs. With the prevalence AOM, any increase in diagnostic accuracy yields a significant impact on antibiotic stewardship efforts and reduces healthcare costs.

"One international survey found that general practitioners were certain of a diagnosis of AOM in only 58% of infants"

While most cases resolve within a few days without antibiotics, many are overtreated due to diagnostic uncertainty, risk of complications associated with missed diagnoses, patient non-cooperation, and parental pressure.

How does the Wispr Digital Otoscope reduce antibiotics?

Traditional otoscopes, whose design has remained largely unchanged for over a century, offer limited visibility and only allow one person to view the ear at a time. In contrast, the Wispr Digital Otoscope features a tip-mounted nano camera and a built-in LCD display, enabling enhanced visualization of the tympanic membrane that can easily be viewed by multiple people instantly.

While it is straightforward to see the connection between enhanced visualization and a reduction in unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, a less obvious but just as important factor is the ability to communicate more effectively with patients.

"Parental pressure can also lead to increased prescriptions, with 35% of pediatricians reporting that they occasionally prescribed antibiotics even when they believed them to be unnecessary"

With traditional otoscopes, it can be challenging to verbally convince the parent of a child in pain when antibiotics are not necessary. The Wispr provides a solution to this scenario by allowing providers to walk through images with patients and parents directly on the device. The study demonstrates this enhancement in communication, citing data from follow-up questionnaires that showed for the majority of patients, the Wispr "significantly enhanced understanding of their ear condition."

How does the Wispr impact education and the quality of care?

The study also highlights how the Wispr can improve both clinical education and the experience for patients and healthcare providers.

“Because both the educator and the student can view the image at the same time, there are improved opportunities for teaching.”

A common challenge when teaching otoscopy is the inability to see what others are seeing when they look through the eyepiece of a traditional otoscope. The study points out that by displaying the view on its built-in display, the Wispr allowed multiple people to view the exam simultaneously as it was being performed. The paper also cited other studies that found "utilizing digital otoscopy has increased learners’ confidence and proficiency in performing the ear exam" [3].

Not only can the Wispr reduce antibiotics in individual cases, its impact on antibiotic stewardship is exponential when factoring in the increased diagnostic abilities of future doctors whose training involved digital otoscopy.

Beyond antibiotic stewardship, the Wispr had a positive impact on the experience for both patients and providers. From the study's survey data, 94% of patients who received care with a Wispr rated their visit as good or excellent, and many commented on the increased comfort of the exam and the clarity it brought to their child’s condition.

Among providers, the most frequently cited benefits were:

• Improved visualization of the ear canal and tympanic membrane
• Easier sharing of exam findings with colleagues, learners, and families
• Enhanced ability to capture and store high-quality images and video

In 97% of cases, providers reported that the tympanic membrane was clearly visible and documented. One physician noted that the Wispr made ear exams significantly easier in infants under six months; a population in which diagnostic certainty tends to decline.

Conclusion

The study found meaningful evidence that providing care with digital otoscopes like the Wispr can significantly enhance antibiotic stewardship compared to traditional analog otoscopes. Additionally, the Wispr had a positive impact on the quality of care by making it easier for healthcare providers to visualize the tympanic membrane, increasing the comfort of ear exams for patients, and reducing the number of repeat visits.

As antimicrobial resistance continues to rise, tools like the Wispr represent a meaningful step toward more precise, evidence-based, and patient-centered care.

The full published study can be found here.

WiscMed thanks Dr. Jiang and the team involved in this research effort for including the Wispr in their study.

References:

[1] Henry Zheng, Jun Chen, Jing MacKenzie, Stanley Mui, Nancy Jiang, Digital versus traditional otoscopy in the diagnosis of acute otitis media in the pediatric primary care clinic, International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, Volume 196, 2025, 112453, ISSN 0165-5876, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2025.112453.

[2]  A.S. Lieberthal, A.E. Carroll, T. Chonmaitree, et al., The diagnosis and management 
of acute otitis media, Pediatrics 131 (3) (2013) e964–e999, https://doi.org/ 
10.1542/PEDS.2012-3488.

[3]  M.C. Petrizzo, D.M. Olvet, R. Samuels, et al., Utilization of video otoscopes for otoscopy skills training of third year medical students, Adv. Med. Educ. Pract. 14 (2023) 363, https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S396046.