Electronic patient-reported monitoring of symptoms during follow-up of ovarian cancer patients: a feasibility study.
BMC Cancer
; 22(1): 726, 2022 Jul 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1974122
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Ovarian cancer patients require monitoring for relapse. Innovative follow-up methods are increasingly being explored. An electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) follow-up pathway was developed for women treated for ovarian cancer. This feasibility study explored patient acceptability and compliance.METHODS:
A single-arm non-blinded prospective feasibility study was undertaken at two hospitals. Participants were women who had completed treatment for ovarian cancer whose clinician was happy for them to be monitored remotely. Automated 3-monthly reminders were sent to participants to complete an ePRO questionnaire and obtain blood tests. Participants were reviewed over the phone by their clinical nurse specialist instead of attending clinic-based follow-up. The primary outcome was compliance (expected ePRO completions/blood tests) across the 12-month study period. Secondary outcomes were recruitment, attrition, resource use, symptom severity/alerts and patient acceptability.RESULTS:
Twenty-four women consented (50% consent rate), and 13 remained on study at 12 months. Seven women relapsed, 3 chose to withdraw, and 1 withdrew for other clinical reasons. ePRO compliance was high and consistent at 75-82%, although the two hospitals differed. Adherence to the clinical protocol was evident for blood tests and contacts with staff (fewer visits, more phonecalls compared to an earlier audit). End-of-study feedback indicated high patient satisfaction.CONCLUSIONS:
Remote ePRO follow-up for ovarian cancer is feasible and acceptable to patients who are able and willing to participate. However, the low recruitment rate (ineligible + declined) indicate it is not suitable/acceptable to all patients immediately post-treatment. Further large-scale research and implementation work is required, especially in a post-COVID era. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT02847715 (first registered 19/05/2016).Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ovarian Neoplasms
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Cancer
Journal subject:
Neoplasms
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12885-022-09817-5
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