[The Würzburg Ear Forms: a system to document surgery and follow-up evaluation].

BACKGROUND

About a decade ago a PC based system to document surgery and follow up evaluation was installed. At that time the wide spread DOS systems provided only inputs via the keyboard. However, we believed that to assure the system would be accepted by the user, a graphical user interface would be necessary. Such an interface provides greater user-comfort and ensures the validity of entered data.

METHODS

A simple graphical platform was installed, which provided all the necessary functions without being too complex. Several forms were designed for data collection. The first form implemented was designed for ear surgery. It comprises 356 items. The relevant data in the form are selected by a mouse click from possible alternatives. Although a large number of items are provided, it takes only one to two minutes to fill in the form.

RESULTS

At present, September 2001, the database contains 10 453 records related to ear operations, 9633 preoperative audiograms and the results from 16 140 follow up evaluations. A special language and an interpreter for analyzing the data were added to complete the system.

CONCLUSIONS

The large number of cases stored in the database allows data analysis with a high level of statistical confidence for any conclusions based upon the data. It also allows investigations of the simultaneous influence of a large number of variables on the results.