AbstractPurposeCrohn’s Disease patients require life-long follow-up resulting in frequent hospital visits, which is a burden for this population. While telehealth has been firmly established, the usefulness of remote management, mobile technology’s role is missing. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of smartphone-based real-time video visits.MethodsWe prospectively randomised 139 patients either to a traditional (FTF) or online clinic (OLV) in a tertiary university hospital between March 2020-September 2020.We measured patients’ satisfaction with clinic metrics such as disease activity, visit outcomes, socioeconomic parameters, and travel expenses.ResultsSatisfaction scores with the provider (p<0.05), clinical process (p<0.001), and total satisfaction scores (p<0.001) were significantly higher at OLV compared to FTF.Median 47km travel distance and 49 minutes travel time per visit saved. An average of US$12.24 potential travel costs were saved per appointment. Eighty-five per cent of the patients met the needs at online visits and did not require a face to face visitDiscussionİn this study, we show for the first time smartphone-based real-time video visit telehealth model has high acceptance, easy to implement, effective and saves travel cost and time. This study helps physicians to overcome distance managing Crohn’s Disease in a simple way. Further investigations are needed for its effect on long-term disease course.Trial registration numberNCT04754620 Date of registration: 02/12/2021
Real-Time Shear Wave Ultrasound Elastography Differentiates Fibrotic from Inflammatory Strictures in Patients with Crohn’s Disease
