Use of telemedicine for follow-up of lupus nephritis in the COVID-19 outbreak: The 6-month results of a randomized controlled trial.
Lupus
; 31(4): 488-494, 2022 Apr.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35254169
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
This study aimed to evaluate the short-term patient satisfaction, compliance, disease control, and infection risk of telemedicine (TM) compared with standard in-person follow-up (FU) for patients with lupus nephritis (LN) during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHOD:
This was a single-center open-label randomized controlled study. Consecutive patients followed at the LN clinic were randomized to either TM or standard FU (SF) group in a 11 ratio. Patients in the TM group received FU via videoconferencing. SF group patients continued conventional in-person outpatient care. The 6-month data were compared and presented.RESULTS:
From June to December 2020, 122 patients were randomized (TM 60, SF 62) and had at least 2 FUs. There were no baseline differences, including SLEDAI-2k and proportion of patients in lupus low disease activity state (LLDAS), between the two groups except a higher physician global assessment score (PGA) in the TM group. After a mean FU of 19.8 ± 4.5 weeks, the overall patient satisfaction score was higher in the TM group. More patients in the TM group had hospitalization (15/60, 25.0% vs 7/62, 11.3%; p = .049) with higher baseline PGA (OR = 1.17; 95% CI, 1.08-1.26) being the independent predictor. The proportions of patients remained in LLDAS were similar in the two groups (TM 75.0% vs SF 74.2%, p = .919). None of the patients had COVID-19.CONCLUSIONS:
TM FU resulted in better patient satisfaction and similar short-term disease control in patients with LN compared to standard care. However, it was associated with more hospitalizations and might need to be complemented by in-person visits especially in patients with higher PGA.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Nefritis Lúpica
/
Telemedicina
/
COVID-19
/
Lupus Eritematoso Sistémico
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Lupus
Asunto de la revista:
REUMATOLOGIA
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article