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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Miguel Castelo-Branco Sousa

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Guest Editor

Centro Academico Clinico das Beiras, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Cova da Beira, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: cardiovascular medicine; telemonitoring; hypertension; chronic diseases; medical education, emer-gency medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Telemedicine can prolong the interaction between patients and care providers over time. Telemonitoring is an area of telemedicine in which physiological, physical and chemical parameters can be monitored locally and remotely and, in addition to providing monitoring data to the patient and caregivers at home, allows intervention to correct therapies whenever justified. Furthermore, it also contributes to the empowerment of patients. Interestingly, its first applications were developed for space flights, but it was the evolution of computers and remote communication and the reduction in the size of devices that, in fact, came to create conditions for more frequent use. Knowing that many diseases in the group of chronic non-communicable diseases, which today are major causes of morbidity and death, are associated with a set of factors ranging from food and physical activity issues to therapeutic adherence, it is also known that the failure to reach therapeutic target values, in terms of the intended physiological parameters, is associated with the likelihood of worse results. However, even in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, telemonitoring can play a role. As a consequence, the integration of telemonitoring into the chronic follow-up of patients may improve outcomes and also may constitute a more rational use of health systems. The potential of telemonitoring as an instrument for monitoring and patient-centered care is immense, with multiple pieces of evidence pointing towards its efficacy in several pathologies

Prof. Miguel Castelo-Branco Sousa
Guest Editor

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Keywords

telemonitoring
chronic diseases
COVID-19
adherence
outcomes
empowerment
health team

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1738 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Benefits of Telemonitoring of Pulmonary Function—3-Month Follow-Up of Home Electronic Spirometry in Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

by Eliza Wasilewska, Agnieszka Sobierajska-Rek, Sylwia Małgorzewicz, Mateusz Soliński and Ewa Jassem

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(3), 856; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11030856 - 06 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2469

Abstract

Background: In patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the respiratory system determines the quality and length of life; therefore, the search for easy and safe everyday monitoring of the pulmonary function is currently extremely important, particularly in the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of a three-month home electronic spirometry (e-spirometry) monitoring of the pulmonary function and strength of respiratory muscles as well as the patients’ benefits from this telemetric program. Methods: Twenty-one boys with DMD (aged 7–22; non-ambulatory-11) received a remote electronic spirometer for home use with a special application dedicated for patients and connected with a doctor platform. Control of the hospital spirometry (forced vital capacity-FVC, forced expiratory volume in 1 second-FEV1, peak expiratory flow-PEF) and respiratory muscle strength (maximal inspiratory-MIP and expiratory pressures-MEP) before and after the three-month monitoring were performed as well telemonitoring benefit survey. Results: A total of 1403 measurements were performed; 15 of the participants were able to achieve correct attempts. There were no differences between the hospital and the home spirometry results as well as between respiratory muscle strength during v1 vs. v2 visits for the whole study group (all parameters p > 0.05); the six participants achieved increased value of FVC during the study period. There was a positive correlation between ΔFVC and the number of assessments during the home spirometry (r = 0.7, p < 0.001). Differences between FVC and MIP_cmH2O (r = 0.58; p = 0.01), MEP_cmH2O (r = 0.75; p < 0.001) was revealed. The mean general satisfaction rating of the telemonitoring was 4.46/5 (SD 0.66) after one month and 4.91/5 (SD 0.28) after three months. The most reported benefit of the home monitoring was the improvement in breathing (38% of participants after one month, 52% after three months of telemonitoring). Forgetting about the procedures was the most common reason for irregular measurements; the participants reported also increased motivation but less time to perform tests. Conclusions: The study indicates high compliance of the home telemonitoring results with the examination in the hospital. Benefits from home spirometry were visible for all participants; the most important benefit was breathing improvement. The remote home spirometry is usable for everyday monitoring of the pulmonary function in DMD patients as well can be also treated as respiratory muscle training. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Telemonitoring: Benefits, Limitations and Clinical Challenges)

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5 pages, 260 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Severe Asthma, Telemedicine, and Self-Administered Therapy: Listening First to the Patient

by Gabriella Guarnieri, Marco Caminati, Alessia Achille, Rachele Vaia, Fulvia Chieco Bianchi, Gianenrico Senna and Andrea Vianello

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(4), 960; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11040960 - 12 Feb 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2109

Abstract

Severe asthma patients are at an increased risk of major complications and they need to be monitored regularly. The COVID-19 pandemic has notably impacted on the health care resources. The telemedicine approach applied to the follow-up of asthmatic patients has been proven to be effective in monitoring their disease and their adherence to the therapy. The aim of our study was to investigate the satisfaction of severe asthma patients before the activation of a telemedicine management, as well as their current experience with self-administration of injection therapy. An ad hoc questionnaire was developed and sent by e-mail to 180 severe asthma patients. Most of subjects, 82%, were confident with the idea of doing self-measurements and self-managing their disease. Further, 77% of subjects favoured to carry out virtual visits and telemedicine. Regarding the home treatment, 93% of patients considered the self-injection therapy easy, 94% of subjects felt safe, and 93% were not worried while self-administering. Only mild adverse events were reported in 22% of patients after self-administration. Our results showed an agreement between what is considered necessary and practicable by healthcare personnel and what is perceived by the severe asthma patients in terms of treatment and monitoring of the disease with Telehealth. Biologics have a safety profile and can be easily self-administred at home. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Telemonitoring: Benefits, Limitations and Clinical Challenges)

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