Remote monitoring of cancer patients can improve their recovery after surgery – and is ‘a call to innovate’ a study’s author suggests.
People whose health team tracked their symptoms remotely wound up recovering more quickly from surgery, researchers reported in the journal npj Digital Medicine.
Researcher Tracy Crane, director of lifestyle medicine, prevention and digital health at the University of Miami's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Centre, said: ‘The first two weeks after discharge are critical. [Remote] care helps bridge the gap between hospital and home, catching issues early and supporting recovery.
For the study, researchers recruited 293 patients undergoing major abdominal or pelvic surgeries for gastrointestinal, genitourinary or gynaecologic cancers.
All received a wristband to track their step count and were asked to report their post-operative symptoms through a smartphone app. Increases in daily steps have been shown to lead to better post-op outcomes, researchers noted.
Half of the patients were assigned to active remote telemonitoring, with triage nurses tracking their reported symptoms and step data and reaching out if any problems were problems.
The other half served as a control group, and received only automated messages telling them to call the hospital if their self-reported symptoms got worse.
Crane said: ‘We designed this study to reflect real-world conditions. Our goal was to ensure the intervention was feasible and meaningful for patients and providers.’
Those with active remote monitoring experienced a 6% better functional recovery two weeks after surgery and fewer major complications, results showed.
Those patients also had better symptom management and less interference with their daily activities, researchers said.
Crane said the results are ‘a call to innovate’, noting that many devices are now available to track patients’ vital signs while they recover at home.
‘Tomorrow's providers should be comfortable with data streams from connected devices to harness data and collaborate across disciplines, putting patients at the centre of every decision. Technology can help us do this.’
The team suggested that future research should focus on identifying the most effective types of monitoring for specific surgical procedures and cancers.
