Abstract
Introduction
The majority of institutions no longer offer routine post-operative follow-up after elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. National guidelines however recommend the use of post-operative hotlines or planned telephone follow-up for day-case procedures. At a time when NHS resources are limited, a digital solution may provide a safe alternative to telephone or physical follow-up. Our aim was to identify if digital follow-up with aboutmyop.org; a digital data-sharing platform, was equivalent to telephone follow-up.
Method
Study participants were invited to use aboutmyop.org before and after surgery. Patients were given free choice on whether they opted to use post-operative digital follow-up or routine post-operative care (no follow-up or telephone follow-up). In addition to follow-up compliance, the outcomes measured included 30-day post-operative complications, readmission, and re-operation.
Results
Of 597 laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients who were offered follow-up, 16.4% opted for digital follow-up, and 33.3% phone follow-up. Over 5 times as many patients who opted for telephone follow-up missed their appointment when compared to those who chose digital follow-up (5.6% vs. 30.9%, p < 0.001). Digital follow-up had a high sensitivity (68.2%-100%) and specificity (100%) for identifying complications at 30-days post-operatively and was completed significantly earlier than phone follow-up (median 6 days vs. 13.5 days, p = 0.001) with high patient acceptability.
Conclusion
This feasibility study demonstrates that digital follow-up utilising the aboutmyop.org platform is an acceptable alternative modality to telephone follow-up in elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients. Future work should aim to compare matched cohorts of patients undergoing digital follow-up, telephone follow-up, and no follow-up as a randomised controlled trial.
Safety assessment of dextrin hydrogel adhesion barrier (AdSpray®) for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy
