Feasibility of a smartphone application for inguinal hernia care: a prospective pilot study

Validating the Q1.6 Inguinal Hernia application using prospective data from a randomised clinical trial

PURPOSE

The Q1.6 Inguinal Hernia application remotely and continuously collects patient-reported outcomes from inguinal hernia patients. Previous research has explored its technical, legal, and ethical aspects, along with face, content, and construct validity assessments. This study aims to examine its concurrent validity by comparing prospective data with that from the ENTREPPMENT trial, a randomised study.

METHODS

A small cohort of patients participating in the ENTREPPMENT trial were asked to use the Q1.6 application in addition to their standard care. Corresponding prospective data points, in terms of content and timing relative to the operation date, were identified. Correlation coefficients were calculated for matching variables, and a repeated measures model was created to analyse pain and limitation measures during the first two postoperative weeks.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight patients were analysed. Preoperative variables, such as hernia side and painkiller use, demonstrated a predominantly high level of agreement between the two measurement methods, ranging from 'substantial' (0.61-0.8) to 'perfect' (1.0) agreement. Evaluating immediate postoperative outcomes, including pain and limitation scores, revealed a prevalent 'substantial' (0.61-0.8) to 'almost perfect' (0.81-1.0) agreement. In a repeated measures model, the overall within-subjects correlation demonstrated levels of agreement ranging from 'moderate' (0.41-0.6) to 'almost perfect' (0.81-1.0).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates strong agreement between data from the Q1.6 Inguinal Hernia application and the ENTREPPMENT trial, supporting its concurrent validity. This makes the application a reliable tool for collecting PROs before and immediately after inguinal hernia repair, offering a promising alternative to traditional follow-up methods. Future research will focus on enhancing compliance and refining functionality.

Validation of the carolinas comfort scale (CCS) in Brazil: a hernia-specific quality of life questionnaire

INTRODUCTION

Ventral hernia surgery (VHS) has the intent to promote a better quality of life (QoL). VHS results were evaluated by recurrence incidence in the past, however the concept of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures has changed this scenario. SF-36 is a generic questionnaire with some limitations on the hernioplasty postoperative evaluation. Disease-specific surveys such Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey (HerQLes) and Carolinas Comfort Scale (CCS) were developed to improve specificity. The aim of this study was to validate a Brazilian version of the CCS as a QoL questionnaire for patients undergoing VHS in Brazil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study consists of a retrospective cohort that reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent ventral hernia surgery for incisional hernias in the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre between January 2019 to December 2020. Participants answered both the HerQles questionnaire and the CCS, then we compared the patients' scores between scales. In-personal evaluations or surveys applied by telemedicine were performed. Intraclass correlation coefficient was utilized to assess the consistency of the agreement between the HerQLes and CCS scales.

RESULTS

A sample of 80 patients were evaluated. Most were male (70%), mean age 61.11 years and BMI 28.4. The most common comorbidity was systemic arterial hypertension, one third were smokers and 77.5% of cases were ASA 2. The average HerQLes score was 30.40 and the CCS was 15.46 (SD: 21.81), with an intraclass coefficient of 0.68.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that CCS is a good and robust tool for assessing ventral hernia. Tools to measure QoL are increasingly used in the literature, as QoL seems to be important data to assess surgical success, since it shows the perception of the patient about the results of their surgery. Further studies with larger sample sizes should be performed to confirm our findings.

Identifying postoperative complications after inguinal hernia repair with a smartphone application: a comparative cohort study

PURPOSE

The Q1.6 Inguinal Hernia application continuously measures patient-reported outcomes (PROs) by sampling experiences through brief, digital and condition-specific questions, utilising micro-moments. This can overcome the limitations of current paper questionnaires and give real-time insight into patient recovery. This exploratory study compares data from the application with retrospective data from electronic medical records (EMRs) to provide information on its accuracy in detecting postoperative complications after inguinal hernia repair.

METHODS

Patients were asked to use the application in addition to their usual care. The application employs twitch crowdsourcing to gather PROs. Questions from validated and frequently used questionnaires were integrated. A retrospective assessment of EMRs was combined with an additional telephone interview. The primary endpoints were the sensitivity and specificity of the application in detecting chronic postoperative inguinal pain, recurrence and surgical-site infection (SSI).

RESULTS

A total of 215 patients were analysed. The sensitivity and specificity for detecting chronic postoperative inguinal pain were 100% (95% CI [47.8%, 100%]) and 93.7% (95% CI [88.3%, 97.1%]), respectively. For recurrence, the sensitivity was 77.8% (95% CI [40.0%, 97.2%]), and the specificity was 81.3% (95% CI [75.0%, 86.5%]). For SSI, the sensitivity and specificity were 75.0% (95% CI [19.4%, 99.4%]) and 89.8% (95% CI [84.8%, 93.6%]), respectively.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates satisfactory measurement capabilities of the Q1.6 Inguinal Hernia application for identifying postoperative complications following inguinal hernia repair. However, certain aspects require further improvement, such as addressing error-prone questions, enhancing long-term compliance, and validating (pain) measurements through prospective control data.

TRAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NL7813 (Dutch Trial Registry), 19 May 2019.