The effects of telemedicine on the quality of life of patients with lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Lanlan Pang, Zefu Liu, Sheng Lin, Zhidong Liu, Hengyu Liu, Zihang Mai, Zhuowei Liu, Chongxiang Chen, Qingyu Zhao, Lanlan Pang, Zefu Liu, Sheng Lin, Zhidong Liu, Hengyu Liu, Zihang Mai, Zhuowei Liu, Chongxiang Chen, Qingyu Zhao

Abstract

Background and aims: Lung cancer patients suffer from deterioration in their physical and psychological function, which exerts a negative influence on their quality of life (QOL). Telemedicine has been proven to be an effective intervention for patients with several chronic diseases. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the efficacy of telemedicine in improving QOL in lung cancer patients.

Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched for randomized controlled trials that investigated the effectiveness of telemedicine in lung cancer patients. Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 15.1 were used to perform data analysis.

Results: Our meta-analysis included eight clinical trials with a total of 635 lung cancer patients. The results showed that the telemedicine group had significantly higher QOL than the usual care group [standard mean difference (SMD) 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.29-1.63, I 2 = 91%]. In addition, the telemedicine group had lower anxiety (SMD -0.44, 95% CI -0.66 to -0.23, I 2 = 3%) and depression scores (SMD -0.48, 95% CI -0.91 to -0.05, I 2 = 66%) than the usual care group. However, no significant differences were found in fatigue and pain outcomes between the two groups.

Conclusion: Telemedicine may be an effective method of improving QOL in lung cancer patients and the further development and use of telemedicine care is recommended.

Keywords: lung cancer; quality of life; symptom burden; telemedicine.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

© The Author(s), 2020.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of the selection of the included studies.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Risk of bias graph.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Risk of bias summary.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Analysis comparing telemedicine versus usual care for quality of life in lung cancer patients. CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance; Std., standardized
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Subgroup analysis of quality of life comparing telemedicine with usual care grouped by follow-up time. CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance; Std., standardized
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Subgroup analysis of quality of life comparing telemedicine with usual care grouped by type of scale. CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance; Std., standardized
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Subgroup analysis of quality of life comparing telemedicine with usual care grouped by type of technology. CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance; Std., standardized
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Funnel plot showing publication bias. SE, standard error, SMD, standardized mean difference
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Analysis comparing telemedicine with usual care for managing anxiety in lung cancer patients. CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance; Std., standardized
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
Analysis comparing telemedicine with usual care for managing depression in lung cancer patients. CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance; Std., standardized
Figure 11.
Figure 11.
Analysis comparing telemedicine with usual care for managing fatigue in lung cancer patients. CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance; Std., standardized
Figure 12.
Figure 12.
Analysis comparing telemedicine with usual care for managing pain in lung cancer patients. CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance; Std., standardized

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Source: PubMed

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