Evaluating the performance of an automated respiratory rate counter in detecting fast breathing pneumonia in children using a reference video expert panel.

ABSTRACT:

Background

According to the World Health Organization's Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines, childhood pneumonia diagnosis relies on counting respiratory rate (RR). Counting RR by health workers is frequently inaccurate, leading to misdiagnosis and poor outcomes. Automated RR counters could potentially overcome these limitations. To address this gap, we introduced an automated RR counter and developed a reference video expert panel (VEP) to evaluate its performance.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study involving children aged 0-59 months with suspected pneumonia in Bangladesh. The RR of children was counted using an automated counter (ChARM) and chest movements were simultaneously videotaped. These videos were interpreted by the VEP, trained

SUBMITTER: Khan AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12442458 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature