Subgroup analysis showed that telemonitoring reduced exacerbation rates when the intervention continued for longer than six months or pulmonary function was monitored .
Conclusions Telemonitoring for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was unlikely to result in statistically significant improvements in health outcomes .
However , our novel finding was that at least six months of intervention duration and monitoring of pulmonary function play roles in activating the effects of telemonitoring
Aims The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of telemonitoring for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease .
Proactive integrated care improves quality of life in patients with COPD
Self-management strategies improve a variety of health-related outcomes for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) . These strategies , however , are primarily design ed to improve chronic disease management and have not focused on early detection and early treatment of exacerbations . In COPD , the majority of exacerbations go unreported and treatment is frequently delayed , result ing in worsened outcomes . Therefore , a r and omised clinical trial was design ed to determine whether integration of self-management education with proactive remote disease monitoring would improve health-related outcomes . A total of 40 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage 3 or 4 COPD patients were r and omised to receive proactive integrated care ( PIC ) or usual care ( UC ) over a 3-month period . The primary and secondary outcomes were change in quality of life , measured by the St George ’s Respiratory Question naire ( SGRQ ) , and change in healthcare costs . PIC dramatically improved SGRQ by 10.3 units , compared to 0.6 units in the UC group . Healthcare costs declined in the PIC group by US$ 1,401 , compared with an increase of US$ 1,709 in the UC group , but this was not statistically significant . PIC uncovered nine exacerbations , seven of which were unreported . Therefore , proactive integrated care has the potential to improve outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients through effects of self-management , as well as early detection and treatment of exacerbations
Subgroup analysis showed that telemonitoring reduced exacerbation rates when the intervention continued for longer than six months or pulmonary function was monitored .
Conclusions Telemonitoring for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was unlikely to result in statistically significant improvements in health outcomes .
However , our novel finding was that at least six months of intervention duration and monitoring of pulmonary function play roles in activating the effects of telemonitoring
Aims The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of telemonitoring for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease .