title: Postoperative monitoring with a mobile application after ambulatory lumbar discectomy: an effective tool for spine surgeons.
abstract: The rise of eHealth, with the increasing use of a Mobile application provides a new perspective for outpatient spine surgery follow-up.
  
  
  
  Assess the feasibility of Mobile app for postoperative monitoring after outpatient lumbar discectomy.
  
  
  
  Sixty consecutive patients, who underwent an ambulatory lumbar discectomy, were proposed the use of Mobile app to optimize their home monitoring for 15 days. Contact was maintained with the clinic based on the level of symptom severity: pain, temperature, deficit, bleeding, to provide a suitable solution. Use of Mobile app compared to the standard follow-up procedure was evaluated daily and a satisfaction survey was carried-out 3 months after surgery.
  
  
  
  Thirty-six patients (60.0 %) completed the initial checklist within 48 h, with no triggered severity. Five patients (8.3 %) triggered a non-response alarm; no action was required in the follow-up of 41 patients. However, 19 patients (31.7 %) triggered a total of 29 alarms, automatically resulting in a neurosurgeon contact for: postoperative pain management and optimization of analgesics, 21 cases (72.4 %), low-grade fever <38.5°, 4 cases (13.8 %), voiding delay, 2 cases (6.9 %) and a problem related to dressing, 2 cases (6.9 %). The scale ranged from 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent), with a 3.5/4 overall satisfaction mean score for the mobile handheld-device. Most patients (91.6 %) responded that they would agree to repeat the postoperative experience.
  
  
  
  Overall patient satisfaction was excellent. Mobile app provides an effective useful tool for outpatient spine surgery monitoring and minimizes the need for in-person visits for postoperative patients.
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Neurosciences Pole, CAPIO-Clinique des Cèdres, Château D'Alliez, 31700, Cornebarrieu, France. bdebono@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Debono
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Neurosciences Pole, CAPIO-Clinique des Cèdres, Château D'Alliez, 31700, Cornebarrieu, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bousquet
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Neurosciences Pole, CAPIO-Clinique des Cèdres, Château D'Alliez, 31700, Cornebarrieu, France.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sabatier
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Neurosciences Pole, CAPIO-Clinique des Cèdres, Château D'Alliez, 31700, Cornebarrieu, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Yves
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Plas
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Neurosciences Pole, CAPIO-Clinique des Cèdres, Château D'Alliez, 31700, Cornebarrieu, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lescure
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgery Department, Neurosciences Pole, CAPIO-Clinique des Cèdres, Château D'Alliez, 31700, Cornebarrieu, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hamel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D017586:Diskectomy; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063731:Mobile Applications; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011182:Postoperative Care; D017216:Telemedicine; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Fast-tracking; Lumbar discectomy; Mobile app; Outpatient monitoring; eHealth