Upper Respiratory Infection

Ear infections are common in young children with cold symptoms, but they can be difficult to diagnose due to small ear canals, child movement, and limited viewing time. In this study, investigators will take photos of the eardrums of children 6-24 months of age with upper respiratory symptoms. The photos will be reviewed by imaging software enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI app) to determine whether the AI app changes how ear infections are diagnosed and treated. The AI app has undergone rigorous study and was found to be highly accurate; but how using this technology affects the diagnosis and treatment by clinicians has not been studied. This research may help improve diagnostic accuracy for ear infections and ensure antibiotics are prescribed only for those children who have definite ear infections.

The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic viral carriers among healthy surgical patients and to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients. The secondary objective is to compare the incidence of perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAE) between virus positive patients with and without upper respiratory infection (URI) symptoms. The secondary objective would aim to enroll patients who report recent URI symptoms.