ABSTRACT
Background and aim: Telemedicine has become a fundamental tool in the management of inflammatory bowel diseases and its role has mainly emerged due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.“Vicini di Salute” is a home telemonitoring project, born to support the management of patients affected by chronic diseases, such as Ulcerative Colitis (UC). The primary aims were to assess (1) the degree of involvement of UC patients, (2) the clinical disease course and the adherence to therapy and (3) the impact of the UC on health status. The secondary aim was to evaluate the degree of patient satisfaction. Materials and methods: The study design was to prospectively enrol twenty adult UC patients with quiescent or mild to moderate disease. They received a tablet for 6 months through which questionnaires about adherence to therapy and UC-related symptoms were periodically administered. The health-related quality of life was assessed through the Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ). The Satisfaction Questionnaire was sent at the baseline and then every three months. Patients also received educational and motivational messages related to bowel disease. Results: Patients received the tablets in June 2020 and all of them completed the study. Demographics and clinical characteristics of the participants are shown in Table 1. Eighty percent of patients regularly used the device and more than 95% answered all questionnaires at least once. The compilation rate was inversely proportional to the frequency of administration (from 54% of the weekly ones up to 80% of the quarterly Satisfaction Questionnaires). Thirteen patients completed at least two questionnaires on UC-related symptoms per month. Among them, 31% maintained clinical remission, 38% achieved clinical remission, 15% had persistent disease activity and 16% experienced disease flare. Based on treatment adherence questionnaires, therapy was regularly assumed in 89%, it was not spontaneously changed in 70% and it was interrupted for well-being in 2%. The mean SIBDQ score was 49±15. Participants reported a mean degree of satisfaction of 8,5 of 10. (table presented) Conclusions: This study was the first in Italy to be focused on telemedicine in UC patients. It showed a high involvement rate and it represented an important tool to assess the clinical disease course and the adherence to therapy, improving the overall management of patients. Based on our experience, telemedicine could become a promising method in the management of UC patients in clinical practice.