TY - JOUR
T1 - Feasibility of an Image-Based Mobile Health Protocol for Postoperative Wound Monitoring
AU - Gunter, Rebecca L.
AU - Fernandes-Taylor, Sara
AU - Rahman, Shahrose
AU - Awoyinka, Lola
AU - Bennett, Kyla M.
AU - Weber, Sharon M.
AU - Greenberg, Caprice C.
AU - Kent, K. Craig
N1 - Funding Information:
Support: Dr Gunter is supported by NIH T32 HL110853.
Funding Information:
The authors thank the nurse practitioners on the University of Wisconsin inpatient vascular surgery service, Lauren Dallman, Mary Randel, and Molly Szotkowski. The authors also thank Chad Schroeder, Don McDermott, Richard Nelson, and the Department of Surgery IT Division for their assistance in developing WoundCheck and providing technical support during this trial.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American College of Surgeons
PY - 2018/3
Y1 - 2018/3
N2 - Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is the most common nosocomial infection and the leading cause of readmission among surgical patients. Many SSIs develop in the postdischarge period and are inadequately recognized by patients. To address this, we developed a mobile health protocol of remote wound monitoring using smartphone technology. The current study aims to establish its feasibility among patients and providers. Study Design: We enrolled vascular surgery patients during their inpatient stay. They were trained to use our mobile health application, which allowed them to transmit digital images of their surgical wound and answer a survey about their recovery. After hospital discharge, participants completed the application daily for 2 weeks. Providers on the inpatient team reviewed submissions daily and contacted patients for concerning findings. Results: Forty participants were enrolled. Forty-five percent of participants submitted data every day for 2 weeks, with an overall submission rate of 90.2%. Submissions were reviewed within an average of 9.7 hours of submission, with 91.9% of submissions reviewed within 24 hours. We detected 7 wound complications with 1 false negative. Participant and provider satisfaction was universally high. Conclusions: Patients and their caregivers are willing to participate in a mobile health program aimed at remote monitoring of postoperative recovery, and they are able to complete it with a high level of fidelity and satisfaction. Preliminary results indicate the ability to detect and intervene on wound complications.
AB - Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is the most common nosocomial infection and the leading cause of readmission among surgical patients. Many SSIs develop in the postdischarge period and are inadequately recognized by patients. To address this, we developed a mobile health protocol of remote wound monitoring using smartphone technology. The current study aims to establish its feasibility among patients and providers. Study Design: We enrolled vascular surgery patients during their inpatient stay. They were trained to use our mobile health application, which allowed them to transmit digital images of their surgical wound and answer a survey about their recovery. After hospital discharge, participants completed the application daily for 2 weeks. Providers on the inpatient team reviewed submissions daily and contacted patients for concerning findings. Results: Forty participants were enrolled. Forty-five percent of participants submitted data every day for 2 weeks, with an overall submission rate of 90.2%. Submissions were reviewed within an average of 9.7 hours of submission, with 91.9% of submissions reviewed within 24 hours. We detected 7 wound complications with 1 false negative. Participant and provider satisfaction was universally high. Conclusions: Patients and their caregivers are willing to participate in a mobile health program aimed at remote monitoring of postoperative recovery, and they are able to complete it with a high level of fidelity and satisfaction. Preliminary results indicate the ability to detect and intervene on wound complications.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85040689876&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85040689876&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2017.12.013
DO - 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2017.12.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 29366555
AN - SCOPUS:85040689876
SN - 1072-7515
VL - 226
SP - 277
EP - 286
JO - Journal of the American College of Surgeons
JF - Journal of the American College of Surgeons
IS - 3
ER -