Digitalizing multidisciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD with a smartphone application: an international observational pilot study

Abstract

Background

Concerning COPD, pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has a positive effect on disease progression and mortality, is cost-effective, and is a part of recommendations of international guidelines. Only a minority of patients profit from conventional PR due to a lack of resources, physicians’ guideline adherence, or patients’ motivation. Novel digital therapies like Kaia COPD, a smartphone application that digitizes PR in COPD, are promising solutions to fill this void.

Methods

Kaia COPD provides a digital version of PR and is certified as a class-I medical device in the European Union. We investigated anonymized data from users of the Kaia COPD app on in-app retention and the change in health-related quality of life (COPD assessment test and Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire [CRQ]) during a period of 20 exercise days with the app.

Results

Of 349 app downloads, 56 users fulfilled inclusion criteria and 34 (61%) had finished day 20 at the time of analysis and were included. Users took 33±11 days to complete the 20-day core program. Users finishing the program reduced their COPD assessment test scores (mean 2.5 units from 21.6±7.7 to 19.1±8.4 units, P=0.008). In finishers, there was a statistically significant effect above the minimum clinically important threshold of the CRQ score on the domains of fatigue, mastery, and emotional function. There was a statistically significant but not clinically relevant effect on the domain of dyspnea of CRQ.

Conclusion

Digitalizing PR with a smartphone app is feasible and accepted by selected patients. The app leads to short-term improvement of health-related quality of life in patients completing a 20-day core program. Due to its observational character, this study has several methodological limitations and was intended to show the feasibility and to extrapolate effect sizes for planned prospective randomized-controlled trials to confirm these findings.

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis

Journal ID (publisher-id): International Journal of COPD

Title: International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Publisher: Dove Medical Press

ISSN (Print): 1176-9106

ISSN (Electronic): 1178-2005

Publication date Collection: 2018

Publication date (Electronic): 23 November 2018

Volume: 13

Pages: 3831-3836

Affiliations

[1 ]Lung Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Cantonal Hospital St Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland, frank.rassouli@ 123456kssg.ch

[2 ]Kaia Health GmbH, Munich, Germany

Author notes

Correspondence: Frank Rassouli, Lung Center, Cantonal Hospital St Gallen, Rorschacher Strasse 95, CH-9007 St Gallen, Switzerland, Tel [phone], Email frank.rassouli@ 123456kssg.ch

Article

Publisher ID: copd-13-3831

DOI: 10.2147/COPD.S182880

PMC ID: 6260122

Copyright statement: © 2018 Rassouli et al. This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited

License:

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Categories

Subject: Original Research