title: Home telehealth for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: We conducted a systematic review of the literature about home telehealth for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with usual care. An electronic literature search identified 6241 citations. From these, nine original studies (10 references) relating to 858 patients were selected for inclusion in the review. Four studies compared home telemonitoring with usual care, and six randomized controlled trials compared telephone support with usual care. Clinical heterogeneity was present in many of the outcomes measured. Home telehealth (home telemonitoring and telephone support) was found to reduce rates of hospitalization and emergency department visits, while findings for hospital bed days of care varied between studies. However, the mortality rate was greater in the telephone-support group compared with usual care (risk ratio = 1.21; 95% CI: 0.84 to 1.75). Home telehealth interventions were similar or better than usual care for quality of life and patient satisfaction outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. juliep@cadth.ca
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Polisena
authors.forename: Khai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cimon
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hutton
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McGill
authors.forename: Krisan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data