Article

OBJECTIVE: First, to investigate the effects of a telerehabilitation intervention
on health status and activity level of patients with Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD), compared to usual care.
Second, to investigate how
patients comply with the intervention and whether compliance is related to
treatment outcomes. DESIGN: a randomized controlled pilot trial SUBJECTS: Thirty-four patients diagnosed with COPD. INTERVENTION: The telerehabilitation
application consists of an activity coach (3D-accelerometer with smartphone) for
ambulant activity registration and real-time feedback, complemented by a web
portal with a symptom diary for self-treatment of exacerbations. The intervention
group used the application for 4 weeks. The control group received usual care.
MAIN MEASURES: Activity level measured by a pedometer (in steps/day), health
status by the Clinical COPD Questionnaire at baseline and after intervention.
Compliance was expressed as the time the activity coach was worn. RESULTS:
Fourteen intervention and 16 control patients completed the study. Activity level
(steps/day) was not significantly affected by the intervention over time. There
was a non-significant difference in improvement in health status between the
intervention (-0.34+/-0.55) and control group (0.02+/-0.57, p=0.10). Health
status significantly improved within the intervention group (p=0.05). The
activity coach was used more than prescribed (108%) and compliance was related to
the increase in activity level for the first two feedback weeks (r=0.62, p=0.03).
CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study shows the potential of the telerehabilitation
intervention: compliance with the activity coach was high, which directly related
to an improvement in activity levels.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2013.

Langue : ANGLAIS