Assessing exercise capacity using telehealth: a feasibility study in adults with cystic fibrosis.
BACKGROUND
Provision of healthcare from a remote site may assist patients to access important services. We aimed to establish the feasibility of monitoring an assessment of exercise capacity using telehealth technology.


METHODS
Adults with CF completed two 3-min step tests, monitored in-person or remotely via videoconferencing, in randomized order. Measurements were physiological responses to exercise, system usability, ease of clinician interaction, metronome acoustics, and participant comfort.


RESULTS
Ten adults (5 male), mean ± SD age 32 ± 7 years, and FEV1 55.4% of predicted (range 38-90% of predicted), completed both tests. Participants reported good system usability, with a mean (95% CI) System Usability Scale score of 85.63 out of 100 (79.8-91.5). Metronome acoustics were rated as significantly poorer remotely (P = .006). There were no differences in measurements of oxyhemoglobin saturation or heart rate between assessment settings.


CONCLUSIONS
Exercise capacity assessment using the 3-min step test is feasible and accurate via remote videoconferencing in adults with CF.
Department of Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. nscox@students.latrobe.edu.au
Narelle S
NS
Cox
Jennifer A
JA
Alison
Brenda M
BM
Button
John W
JW
Wilson
Anne E
AE
Holland
D000162:Acoustics; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D017216:Telemedicine; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D049269:Videoconferencing
D010100:Oxygen