Vietnam: Surgical Outreach and Postoperative Data Collection

As the burden of surgical care and the associated outreach trips to low- and middle-income countries increases, it is important to collect postoperative data to assess and improve the quality, safety, and efficacy of the care provided.

Pilot Study Overview

In this pilot study, Lauren M. Shapiro et al aimed to evaluate the feasibility of short message service (SMS)-based mobile phone follow-up to obtain patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) after hand surgery during a surgical outreach trip to Vietnam.

Study Participants

Patients undergoing surgery during a week-long outreach trip to Hospital 175 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, who owned a mobile phone, were included in this study. Eight eligible patients elected to participate.

Methodology

The SMS-based text messaging reminders were sent via the case-management platform developed by Memora Health. This web-based Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant platform sends a text message reminder to each patient with a link to the PROM instrument at 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks after the surgery.

A modified version of the shortened Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire was administered for this investigation. It is an 11-item instrument that measures the magnitude of disability and symptoms specific to the upper extremity and requires patients to rate each item on a 5-point scale, from "no difficulty/none" to "unable/extreme."

Results

• The patient characteristics and instrument completion rates were reported.
• The 8 patients had a mean age of 45.4 years and lived at a mean distance of 72.7 km from the hospital.
• Seven (87.5%), 7 (87.5%), 8 (100%), 6 (75%), and 8 (100%) patients completed the follow-up questionnaires at 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks after the surgery, respectively.

Conclusion

The authors concluded that this pilot study demonstrates that the collection of patient-reported outcome measures after hand surgery outreach trips to low- and middle-income countries via SMS-based messaging is feasible for up to 12 weeks after the surgery. This technology can be scaled and contextualized based on location to ensure that patient care during outreach trips is safe and effective.

Further Reading

Short Message Service-Based Collection of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures on Hand Surgery Global Outreach Trips: A Pilot Feasibility Study

Lauren M. Shapiro, Mung Phan Ðình, Luan Tran, Paige M. Fox, Marc J. Richard, Robin N. Kamal.

J Hand Surg Am. Vol. 47, April 2022

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2021.05.00