Telemedicine Utilization for Follow Up Treatment of Enuresis
Elias Q. Smith, MD/MPH Candidate, UAMS 20211, Stephen Canon - canonsj.org, MD2, Joseph Cline - JKCline.edu, MD1, Ashay Patel - PatelAS.org, MD2, Ismael Zamilpa - ZamilpaI.org, MD2.
1University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA, 2Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR, USA.
BACKGROUND: Telemedicine allows for health care professionals to diagnose and treat patients remotely. Enuresis is one of the most common chronic problems in childhood, and access to specialized care can be limited. Utilization of telemedicine in this setting has not been previously analyzed.
METHODS: The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of treatment of enuresis as compared to traditional in person evaluation for follow up patients at our institution. A retrospective review of established patients treated for nocturnal enuresis with either telemedicine (Group 1) or traditional (Group 2) follow up care was conducted. All established patients ages 5-18 years of age treated for enuresis between July 2016 to December 2017 were included. Patients with secondary enuresis, polyuria, or neurologic disease were excluded. Resolution of enuresis was the primary outcome studied with patients categorized with a total response, partial response, or no response as defined by the ICCS. Other variables extracted include age, treatment methodology, total number of visits, and patient satisfaction questionnaires for telemedicine patients.
RESULTS: 77 patients met inclusion criteria with 23 patients in Group 1 and 54 patients in Group 2. 61.9% (13/21 - 7 partial and 6 total) in Group 1 and 48.1% (25/52 - 8 partial and 17 total) in Group 2 responded to treatment with 2 patients in each group without completion of follow up. The average age for both groups was 9.2 years. Of patients treated in Group 1, 20/23 (87%) reported that they would use telemedicine again.
CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine appears to be a feasible tool for the follow up care of patients with enuresis. The majority of patient families demonstrate a favorable opinion of potentially using telemedicine again for this problem. Further research to understand the efficacy and potential benefits of telemedicine in this setting is needed.
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