The safety and effectiveness of telemedicine for cancer-related colostomy care in early stage of discharge: A prospective, randomized, single-center study

Abstract

Background There has been an exponential growth in the use of telemedicine services to provide clinical care. However, the safety and effectiveness of telemedicine in cancer-related colostomy care during the early stages of discharge remains unclear. This study aimed to prove that the safety and effectiveness of telemedicine for cancer-related colostomy care are not inferior to those of outpatient care. Methods This was a prospective, randomized, noninferiority study. A total of 76 consecutive patients who underwent cancer-related colostomy stoma were enrolled and randomly divided into a telemedicine group or an outpatient group with an equal allocation ratio (1:1). The outpatient group was provided in-person interview mode colostomy care, whereas the telemedicine group was provided video interview mode colostomy care. Using stoma-related complications, self-care ability and quality of life reflected the safety and effectiveness of colostomy care in the early stages of discharge. Results The incidence of stoma-related complications within 2-weeks and 1-month after discharge showed no significant differences between the two groups (P2 − weeks = 0.772 and P1 − month = 0.760). The NCI-CTCAE score for stoma-related complications was less than level 2. Patients with complications need not be hospitalized. The ESCA scores were 101.4 ± 13.9 and 106.3 ± 16.5, respectively, in the telemedicine group, and 101.8 ± 13.5 and 103.3 ± 13.4, respectively, in the outpatient group. The C-COH-QOL-OQ scores were 6.15 ± 0.91 and 6.34 ± 0.86, respectively, in the telemedicine group, and 6.27 ± 0.71 and 6.38 ± 0.61, respectively, in the outpatient group. The ESCA and C-COH-QOL-OQ scores were not significantly different between the telemedicine and outpatient group in 2-weeks and 1-month after discharge (all P > 0.05). Conclusion The results of this study revealed that the safety and effectiveness of telemedicine for cancer-related colostomy in the early stages of discharge were not inferior to those of outpatient care. When using telemedicine for cancer-related colostomy care, communication between the medical staff and patients is broken through the restrictions of time and place.