Table 2.
Summary of included prospective studies.
| Author | Procedures | Patient n | Digital health intervention (DHI) | Data collected | Length of intervention | Assessment of patient adherence | Measured patient adherence (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonker et al., 2021 | Oncological surgery | 47 | Mobile applicationa (Self-Management system) and Fitbit Charge 2 | Physical activity, temperature, blood pressure, weight, pain and symptoms | 90 days | Completion of study follow-up assessment | 79 |
| Gräfitsch et al., 2020 | Abdominal wall hernia repair | 16 | Santiago® tablet, actimeter and pulse oximeter | Continuous activity levels; pain, oxygen saturation and wound images | 30 days | Activity measurements available for the entire postoperative period | 69 |
| Panda et al., 2019 | Soft tissue and abdominal | 62 | Mobile application (Beiwe)a | Continuous passive collection of raw smartphone accelerometer data | 6 weeks | None | – |
| Carmichael et al., 2019 | Inguinal hernia (most common), abdominal and thoracic procedures | 175 | Vivofit 3 (Garmin) | Mean daily step count calculated for each elective procedure type, including preoperative baseline | 30 days | At least 2 weeks postoperative data available | 68 |
| Thijs et al., 2019 | CABG | 22 | Fitbit Charge HR | Weekly average step count data downloaded at end of the study period | 14 days | Accelerometer worn for the entirety of postoperative study period | 77 |
| Cole et al., 2019 | Transsphenoidal surgery | 7 | Wristband device (Wavelet Health) | Multiple physiological parameters tracked (step count, calories, distance, heart rate, RR and sats) | Up to 13 days (average 8 days) | Transfer of data from device to cloud storage system | 84 |
| Argent et al., 2019 | Total knee replacement | 15 | Shimmer3 inertial measurement unit | Accelerometer data used to guide and provide feedback on rehabilitation exercises | 14 days | None | – |
| Scheper et al., 2019 | Joint arthroplasty | 69 | Mobile applicationa | Wound symptoms and images | 30 days | Use of application until day 30 | 59 |
| Khanwalkar et al., 2018 | Sinus surgery | 288 | Mobile applicationa | Pain and PROMIS pain interference | 14 days | Completion of follow-up survey | 89 |
| Felbaum et al., 2018 | Spinal surgery | 56 | Mobile application (TrackMyRecovery®)a | Patient education, pain scores and wound images | 30 days | Downloaded and sent data through app | 96 |
| Anthony et al., 2018 | Hand surgery | 47 | Text messaging via software robota | Patient-reported pain and opiate use through daily automated text messages | 7 days | Completion of all questionnaires | 88 |
| Gunter et al., 2018 | Lower limb vascular surgery | 40 | Mobile application (WoundCheck) | Participant satisfaction and wound status (via app) | 14 days | Daily submission of data | 45 |
| Ghomrawi et al., 2018 | Range of elective paediatric surgical procedures | 60 | Actigraph wearable accelerometer | Time spent in grades of physical activity (light to intense). Data acquired at end of the study period | 14 days | Wear accelerometer for at least 10 h each day of the study period | 42 |
| Pozza et al., 2018 | Cosmetic surgery | 57 | Mobile messaging (SMS and MMS)a | Text message and wound images | 7 days | Completed postoperative survey | 91 |
| Agarwal et al., 2018 | Robotic laparoscopic prostatectomy | 46 | Fitbit Charge HR and mobile applicationa | Pre- and postoperative physical activity (measured by average step count) | Up to 15 days | None | – |
| Scott et al., 2017 | Colorectal surgery | 20 | Mobile application (mHealth app from Seamless Mobile Health)a | Daily postoperative symptom tracker using pre-developed algorithm | 14 days | Completed follow-up | 85 |
| Symer et al., 2017 | Open and laparoscopic abdominal surgery | 31 | FitBit Charge HR and mobile applicationa | Daily symptom questionnaire and wound images. Automated alerts via app | 30 days | Completed at least one app-related task ≥70% of the time | 84 |
| Sosa et al., 2017 | Head and neck cancer resection | 23 | Mobile messaging (SMS and MMS)a | Text messages and wound images (on the SenseHealth app platform) | 7 days | None | – |
| Castillo et al., 2017 | C-section | 105 | Mobile application (how2trak)a | Wound images and surgical site infection symptoms | 30 days | Submission of wound images up to 30 days | 45 |
| Higgins et al., 2017 | ACL reconstruction | 32 | Mobile application (web-based) | Mobile app collecting pain scores, QoL (QoR-9) and wound images | 6 weeks | None | – |
| Chiang et al., 2017 | Total knee replacement | 18 | Accelerometer (brand not stated) | Accelerometer used periodically to measure the range of postoperative activity | 6 weeks | None | – |
| Sun et al., 2017 | Major gastrointestinal resection | 20 | VivoFit2 | Daily steps are continuously collected using a secure group account | 14 days | Wore device for at least 1 week after discharge | 83 |
| Abraham et al., 2017 | Breast reconstruction | 4 | Smartwatch (Microsoft Band 2)a | Step count and physiological parameters streamed continuously via Wi-Fi | 28 days | Daily collection of data | 50 |
| Carrier et al., 2016 | Major colorectal resections | 111 | Mobile messaginga | Pain and postoperative symptoms captured using text messaging | 7 days | Reply to all messages | 90 |
| Toogood et al., 2016 | Total hip arthroplasty | 33 | Fitbit and mobile phone | Daily step count used as marker of patient activity | 30 days | Transmit data for seven consecutive days | 89 |
| Tenhagen et al., 2016 | Gastric sleeve or bypass | 14 | Internet-enabled weighing scales | Patients requested to weigh themselves at least once a week | 1 year | Provided weight for ≥80% weeks | 50 |
| Debono et al., 2016 | Lumbar discectomy | 60 | Mobile applicationa | Predetermined patient responses for pain and postoperative symptoms triggered response alarm | 16 days | None | – |
| Mobbs et al., 2016 | Lumbar spine surgery | 30 | FitBit zip | Average daily activity over each month. Data accessed through shared patient-investigator login | 90 days | Accelerometer worn for an entire study period | 93 |
| McElroy et al., 2016 | Cardiac surgery | 27 | Bluetooth-enabled tablet | Tablet linked to digital health kit (pulse oximeter, heart rate blood pressure cuff and weight scales) | 30 days | None | – |
| Semple et al., 2015 | Breast reconstruction and ACL repair | 65 | Mobile application | Postoperative pain, QoL (QoR-9) and wound photographs | 30 days | Upload of at least one wound photograph each day | 71 |
| Dawes et al., 2015 | Any colorectal procedure | 20 | Pre-programmed tablet computer | Postoperative health status survey completed daily | 14 days | None | – |
| Palombo et al., 2009 | Carotid endarterectomy | 36 | UMTS technology internet-linked video phone | Surgical wound, blood pressure and heart rate monitored every 4 h for 2 days | 2 days | None | – |
| Martinez-Ramos et al., 2009 | Range of ambulatory procedures | 96 | GPRS phone-based system | Wound images | 14 days | None | – |
| Perez et al., 2006 | Predominantly orthopaedic procedures | 49 | Mobile application(symbian OS phone) | Portable saturations probe readings and wound images | Not stated | None | – |
aStudy inclusion criteria required the patient to own a mobile phone