Comparing Email, SMS, and Concurrent Mixed Modes Approaches to Capture Quality of Recovery in the Perioperative Period: Retrospective Longitudinal Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: As patients are discharged from the hospital more quickly, the ability to monitor patient recovery between hospital discharge and the first follow-up clinic visit is becoming increasingly important. Despite substantial increase in both internet use and smartphone ownership over the past 5 years, clinicians have been slow to embrace the use of these devices to capture patient recovery information in the period between hospital discharge and the first clinical follow-up appointment. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the generalizability of using a web-based platform to capture patient recovery in a broad surgical patient population and compare response rates for 3 different web-based strategies for delivering recovery surveys over the perioperative period: email, SMS text messaging, and a concurrent mixed approach of using both email and SMS text messaging. METHODS: Patients undergoing surgeries managed with an enhanced recovery after surgery pathway were asked to participate in a web-based quality assurance monitoring program at the time of their preoperative surgery appointment. Different follow-up methods were implemented over 3 sequential phases. Patients received Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant web-based survey links via email (phase 1), SMS text messaging (phase 2), or concurrently using both email and SMS text messaging (phase 3) using REDCap and Twilio software. Recovery assessments using the established Quality of Recovery-9 instrument were performed 4 days before surgery and at 7 and 30 days postoperatively. Generalizability of the web-based system was examined by comparing characteristics of those who participated versus those who did not. Differences in response rates by the web-based collection method were analyzed using adjusted models. RESULTS: A total of 615 patients were asked to participate, with 526 (85.5%) opting for the follow-up program. Those who opted in were younger, slightly healthier, and more likely to be in a partnership. The concurrent mixed modes method was the most successful for obtaining responses at each time point compared with text or email alone (pre: 119/160, 74.4% vs 116/173, 67.1% vs 56/130, 43.1%, P<.001; 7 days: 115/172, 66.9% vs 82/164, 50.0% vs 59/126, 46.8%, P=.001; 30 days: 152/234, 65.0% vs 52/105, 49.5% vs 53/123, 43.1%, P=.001, respectively). In the adjusted model, the concurrent mixed modes method significantly predicted response compared with using email alone (odds ratio 3.4; P<.001) and SMS text messaging alone (odds ratio 1.9; P<.001). Additional significant predictors of response were race, partnership, and time. CONCLUSIONS: For internet users and smartphone owners, electronic capture of recovery surveys appear to be possible through this mechanism. Discrepancies in both inclusion and response rates still exist among certain subgroups of patients, but the concurrent approach of using both email and text messages was the most effective approach to reach the largest number of patients across all subgroups.

Management of hepatitis B infected pregnant women: a cross-sectional study of obstetricians.

BACKGROUND: Our study aims to describe how obstetricians manage pregnant women infected with chronic hepatitis B in a region with a large high-risk population. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study among practicing obstetricians in Santa Clara County, California. All obstetricians practicing in Santa Clara County were invited to participate in the study. Obstetricians were recruited in person or by mail to complete a voluntary, multiple choice survey on hepatitis B (HBV). Survey questions assessed basic HBV knowledge and obstetricians' self-reported clinical practices of the management of HBV-infected pregnant women. Pooled descriptive analyses were calculated for the cohort, as well as, correlation coefficients to evaluate the association between reported clinical practices and hepatitis B knowledge. RESULTS: Among 138 obstetricians who completed the survey, 94% reported routinely testing pregnant women for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) with each pregnancy. Only 60.9% routinely advised HBsAg-positive patients to seek specialist evaluation for antiviral treatment and monitoring and fewer than half (48.6%) routinely provided them with HBV information. While most respondents recognized the potential complications of chronic HBV (94.2%), only 21% were aware that chronic HBV carries a 25% risk of liver related death when left unmonitored and untreated, and only 25% were aware of the high prevalence of chronic HBV in the foreign-born Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population. Obstetricians aware of the high risk of perinatal HBV transmission were more likely to test pregnant women for HBV DNA or hepatitis B e-antigen in HBV-infected women (r = 0.18, p = 0.033). Obstetricians who demonstrated knowledge of the long-term consequences of untreated HBV infection were no more likely to refer HBV-infected women to specialists for care (r = 0.02, p = 0.831). CONCLUSION: Our study identified clear gaps in the practice patterns of obstetricians that can be readily addressed to enhance the care they provide to HBV-infected pregnant women.

Three-Dimensional Optical Imaging for Pectus Excavatum Assessment.

BACKGROUND: Corrective surgery for pectus excavatum often relies on the Haller index (HI), derived from chest roentgenograms or computed tomography; however, this exposes children to potentially unnecessary radiation. Our aim was to develop a novel three-dimensional (3D) optical imaging technique to accurately measure chest wall dimensions in a clinically relevant manner. METHODS: Patients with pectus excavatum were imaged using a 3D structured light scanner. Patient characteristics, including height, weight, body mass index, and radiographic HIs (rHI) were recorded. We defined the optical index (OI) as the ratio of the lateral to anterior-posterior measurements obtained from the 3D optical images and compared those to patients' rHIs. Two-thirds of the patients' images were used to develop a predictive model of the rHI, using their OI and biometric data in multilinear regression modeling. The predictive model was applied to the remaining images, and the predicted HIs (pHI) were compared to the rHIs. RESULTS: Optical imaging was performed in 42 patients (ages, 5-35 years) with pectus excavatum; of these, 31 had recent chest roentgenograms, with rHIs ranging from 2.00 to 7.20. The OIs derived from the images correlated closely with rHIs (r = 0.850). Our predictive model, using patients' OI, height, and weight, was able to accurately estimate their rHIs with a median error of 8.11% (interquartile range, 3.5%-17.4%). CONCLUSIONS: 3D optical imaging of patients with pectus excavatum is emerging as an alternative method to assess HIs without the use of ionizing radiation. Additional studies will focus on volumetric quantification of chest wall deformities, using the 3D capabilities of this technology.

A Simplified Method for Three-Dimensional Optical Imaging and Measurement of Patients with Chest Wall Deformities.

BACKGROUND: Pectus excavatum and carinatum are two of the most commonly observed chest wall deformities in pediatrics. The standard diagnostic evaluation for these conditions includes either chest radiograph (CXR) or computed tomography (CT). Our research aims to develop a novel and reliable way of quantifying chest wall deformities in the clinic setting without radiation exposure. METHODS: Using a handheld structured light scanner, we created three-dimensional (3D) models of patients with chest wall deformities through an IRB-approved protocol. Raters from a variety of backgrounds were then asked to take measurements based on the 3D model utilizing commercially available 3D graphical software. The standard deviation of the measurements and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were then calculated to quantify inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: Sixty patients with pectus excavatum (Haller index range 2.0-6.38) and pectus carinatum were enrolled and imaged in our outpatient clinic using a structured light scanner. Five patients were used to verify interuser reliability. The standard deviation of all the measurements was 2.2 mm. The ICC for absolute agreement was 0.99139, with 1.0 being perfect correlation. CONCLUSION: Structured light scanners provide an alternative approach to quantifying chest wall deformities in pediatric patients without radiation exposure. Our method is highly reliable, even among users with minimal image processing or 3D modeling experience. Our protocol can potentially be used to track treatment progress in children with chest wall deformities.