Assessing the Usefulness of the Prevexair Smartphone Application in the Follow-Up High-Risk Patients with COPD.

INTRODUCTION: This manuscript analyzes the exacerbations recorded by the Prevexair application through the daily analysis of symptoms in high-risk patients with COPD and explores its usefulness in assessing clinical stability with respect to that reported in visits. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study is a multi-centre cohort of COPD patients with the exacerbator phenotype who were monitored over 6 months. The Prevexair application was installed on the patients' smartphones. Patients used the app to record symptom changes, use of medication and use of healthcare resources. It is not established a recommended action plan when worsening of symptoms. At their clinical visit during the follow-up period, patients were asked about exacerbations suffered during these 6 months of monitoring. The investigators who conducted the visit were blinded about the Prevexair app records. RESULTS: The patients experienced a total of 185 exacerbations according to daily records in the app whereas only 64 exacerbations were recalled during medical visits. Perception became more accurate for severe exacerbations (kappa 0.6577), although we found no factors that predicted poor recall. The proportion of 72.5% patients were classified as unstable if the exacerbations captured by Prevexair were used to define stability, versus 47.8% if the exacerbations recall in visit was used. Two-thirds of the exacerbations recorded in the Prevexair application were not reported to doctors during their clinical visits. Almost half were treated with oral corticosteroids and/or antibiotics and more than one-quarter of the exacerbations treated did not seek medical attention. CONCLUSION: The findings of this cohort study confirm that patients do not always remember the exacerbations suffered during their medical visit. The prevexair application is useful in monitoring COPD patients at high risk, in order to a better assessment of exacerbations of COPD during medical visits. Further research must be carried out to evaluate this strategy in clinical practice.

Compliance and Utility of a Smartphone App for the Detection of Exacerbations in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, mobile health (mHealth)-related apps have been developed to help manage chronic diseases. Apps may allow patients with a chronic disease characterized by exacerbations, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to track and even suspect disease exacerbations, thereby facilitating self-management and prompt intervention. Nevertheless, there is insufficient evidence regarding patient compliance in the daily use of mHealth apps for chronic disease monitoring. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide further evidence in support of prospectively recording daily symptoms as a useful strategy to detect COPD exacerbations through the smartphone app, Prevexair. It also aimed to analyze daily compliance and the frequency and characteristics of acute exacerbations of COPD recorded using Prevexair. METHODS: This is a multicenter cohort study with prospective case recruitment including 116 patients with COPD who had a documented history of frequent exacerbations and were monitored over the course of 6 months. At recruitment, the Prevexair app was installed on their smartphones, and patients were instructed on how to use the app. The information recorded in the app included symptom changes, use of medication, and use of health care resources. The patients received messages on healthy lifestyle behaviors and a record of their cumulative symptoms in the app. There was no regular contact with the research team and no mentoring process. An exacerbation was considered reported if medical attention was sought and considered unreported if it was not reported to a health care professional. RESULTS: Overall, compliance with daily records in the app was 66.6% (120/180), with a duration compliance of 78.8%, which was similar across disease severity, age, and comorbidity variables. However, patients who were active smokers, with greater dyspnea and a diagnosis of depression and obesity had lower compliance (P<.05). During the study, the patients experienced a total of 262 exacerbations according to daily records in the app, 99 (37.8%) of which were reported exacerbations and 163 (62.2%) were unreported exacerbations. None of the subject-related variables were found to be significantly associated with reporting. The duration of the event and number of symptoms present during the first day were strongly associated with reporting. Despite substantial variations in the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), there was improvement only among patients with no exacerbation and those with reported exacerbations. Nevertheless, CAT scores deteriorated among patients with unreported exacerbations. CONCLUSIONS: The daily use of the Prevexair app is feasible and acceptable for patients with COPD who are motivated in their self-care because of frequent exacerbations of their disease. Monitoring through the Prevexair app showed great potential for the implementation of self-care plans and offered a better diagnosis of their chronic condition.