App-Based Postoperative Monitoring Improves Cancer Patient Recovery

A new study found that a smartphone app-based follow-up was successful in supporting the quality of recovery and patient satisfaction among oncologic patients who underwent operations for breast reconstruction and gynecology.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that about 264,000 women and 2,400 men receive a breast cancer diagnosis annually in the US.

Despite the growth in the use of smartphone apps in healthcare, research surrounding their ability to assist patients postoperation is limited. Considering this, along with the prevalence of oncologic surgery patients, researchers aimed to assess the use of smartphone apps in helping patients following operations.

Using a randomized clinical trial strategy, the study included 72 patients. Of this population, half had an operation for breast reconstruction, and the other half had gynecologic oncology surgery. Researchers assigned a random assortment of half of the patient population to receive smartphone app-assisted follow-up. Meanwhile, the other half participated in conventional in-person follow-ups.

Researchers considered recovery quality and patient satisfaction levels the main measurements, comparing outcomes between the two groups. Those in the app-based follow-up cohort used a surgeon-monitored app to note down Quality of Recovery 15 (QoR15) scores and other variables over a six-week period. Using the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire III (PSQ-III), researchers recorded patient satisfaction scores at the two- and six-week points postoperation.

Of the 72 patients, there were three dropouts. These withdrawals included two who had a breast reconstruction operation, one in the app group and the other in the control group. The other was a gynecologic oncology surgery participant in the control group.

Researchers found that at both the two-week and six-week points, the app group had higher mean QoR15 scores compared to the control group. At two weeks, the mean QoR15 scores were 127.58 and 117.68 for the app and control groups, respectively. At six weeks, they were 136.64 for the app group and 129.76 for the control group.

PSQ-III scores indicated that satisfaction levels were similar across the groups and subsets. Both groups also reported a similar number of complications as well as surgeon contacts per patient.

Thus, researchers determined that app-assisted postoperative monitoring for breast reconstruction and gynecology surgery patients was effective. This was due to improved recovery quality and equal care satisfaction levels between app users and those who participated in in-person follow-ups.

Recent research has also indicated the numerous capabilities of smartphone apps in healthcare.

In July 2022, Stanford Medicine researchers found that a smartphone app was assistive in detecting skin cancer among older patients.

Known as SkinIO, this app was designed to deliver photos of what were thought to potentially be cancerous lesions to dermatologists. Researchers visited senior living communities to engage with study participants.

Following review, the app highlighted a large portion of lesions that required further attention. Although researchers found that most lesions were not harmful, the app did help them detect skin cancer in three patients.