Objective To review published literature on telemedicine in China using qualitative analysis. Methods Such databases as CBM, VIP, CNKI, and CSSCI were electronically and comprehensively searched for clinical studies related to telemedicine from inception to March 2013. References of the included studies were also retrieved. Two reviewers independently identified the literature according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the included studies. Then, qualitative analysis was performed in aspects of the application fields, range, and effects of the included studies. Result Finally, 19 studies were eligible for the analysis, including 16 quasi-randomized controlled trials and 3 observational studies. According to methodological evaluation standards (JBI, 2005), among 16 quasi-randomized controlled trials, 12 were of medium quality and four were of low quality; and 3 observational studies were all of low quality. The results of qualitative analysis showed that, literature on telemedicine had increased by year since 1995. However, the literature on relevant research of telemedicine had been published since 2002. The number of literature increased evenly and sporadically in journals. According to the classification of the application fields of telemedicine, 15 (80%) related to remote monitoring, especially related to remote fetal monitoring, 4 (21%) were remote consultation, and 3 (16%) were remote treatment. The results of 19 studies showed that, telemedicine had better effects than traditional medicine. Conclusion In China, literature related to telemedicine increases by year but the quality of them are low. High quality studies are further needed. The distribution of the application fields of telemedicine is uneven, most of which focuses on remote monitoring. The quality of research is low and need high-quality research in future. The therapeutic effects of telemedicine are better with accurate monitoring data and convenience to patients..
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy of telemedicine on blood glucose level and pregnancy outcomes in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus.MethodsThe Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Scopus, CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on efficacy of telemedicine on blood glucose and pregnancy outcomes in patients with gestational diabetes from inception to January 1st, 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, and then meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 10 RCTs involving 1 267 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that there were no statistical significances in fasting blood glucose (MD=−0.34, 95%CI −1.62 to 0.93, P=0.60), HbA1c (MD=−0.22, 95%CI −0.61 to 0.17, P=0.27), gestational age at delivery (MD=0.03, 95%CI −0.13 to 0.19, P=0.72), premature rate (OR=0.52, 95%CI 0.26 to 1.01, P=0.05), caesarean delivery rate (OR=0.87, 95%CI 0.57 to 1.31, P=0.51), infant birth weight (MD=13.01, 95%CI −45.75 to 71.78, P=0.66), large for gestational age rate (OR=1.16, 95%CI 0.83 to 1.62, P=0.40), pre- eclampsia/pregnancy induced hypertension rate (OR=1.04, 95%CI 0.52 to 2.09, P=0.91), neonatal hypoglycaemia rate (OR=1.21, 95%CI 0.75 to 1.95, P=0.44) and neonatal jaundice rate (OR=1.09, 95%CI 0.59 to 2.00, P=0.78) between telemedicine management and outpatient follow-up of gestational diabetes mellitus. However, the telemedicine management group had lower 2h postprandial blood glucose (MD=−3.45, 95%CI −5.53 to −1.37, P=0.001).ConclusionsThe current evidence shows that telemedicine management of gestational diabetes mellitus achieves similar efficacy and safety in blood glucose level and pregnancy outcomes as outpatient follow-up. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify the above conclusions.
Recently, with the development of technology, the 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G) is developing day by day. Mobile medical industry has a huge market in our country. As a strategic emerging industry in China, 5G will focus on the medical care industry, enhance the service quality of medical care, enable innovative applications and services, and make the medical industry more digital, networked and intelligent. 5G has an epoch-making significance for improving the quality of health monitoring and self-care ability, and promoting medical care development. Therefore, this paper introduces the definition, advantages, and significance of 5G and its application status in medical care, in order to lay a foundation for promoting the deep integration of 5G and medical care.
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 has become a public health emergency of global concern, posing a great threat to people’s health. As a state-level large-scale general hospital with rich medical rescue experience in dealing with emergent public health events, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and earthquake, West China Hospital of Sichuan University quickly established six working mechanisms for telemedicine. West China Hospital of Sichuan University set up a team of clinicians to provide multi-disciplinary telemedicine consultation, telemedicine education and joint rounds on line with the 5th generation mobile networks, which designed to help estimate patients’ condition, innovate the mode of diagnosis and treatment, and improve service efficiency in remote institutions including preferred hospitals for coronavirus disease 2019 patients in Sichuan Province and telemedicine alliance units outside the province.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the effects of telemedicine on the management of warfarin therapy.MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Database (from inception to February 2020) and conducted retrospective literature searching to identify studies about the management of warfarin using telemedicine intervention techniques. R language software was used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of telemedicine on warfarin management.ResultsA total of 7 239 articles were retrieved, and 12 articles were finally included according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, totaling 8 112 patients, including 3 726 patients in the intervention group and 4 386 patients in the control group. The results of meta-analysis showed that there was a statistical difference in the accurate international normalized ratio (INR) treatment target range time ratio between the intervention group and the control group (MD=6.52, 95%CI 2.13 to 10.92, P<0.01, I2=89%). The incidence of bleeding events (RR=0.61, 95%CI 0.46 to 0.81, P=0.97, I2=0%) and the incidence of thromboembolic events (RR=0.50, 95%CI 0.29 to 0.85, P=0.63, I2=0%) were not statistically different between the two groups. ConclusionExisting evidence indicates that telemedicine management has a benefit in anticoagulant efficacy compared with conventional anticoagulant management in patients with thrombotic diseases, but there is no statistical difference in safety. Limited by the quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusion needs to be verified by more high-quality studies.
The Diabetic Foot and Peripheral Vascular Disease Study Group, Chinese Diabetes Society, released an expert advice Recommendations of Chinese Experts on the Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetic Foot During Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic, and the International Diabetic Foot Care Group and D-Foot International released a document Fast-track Pathway for Diabetic Foot Ulceration During COVID-19 Crisis: A Document from International Diabetic Foot Care Group and D-Foot International during the 2020 outbreak, respectively. Both have the same goals, but the implementation focuses are different. The aim of this article is to give an interpretation of both expert advices in terms of the general principles, the epidemic prevention and control, the family, community and hospitalization management model of diabetic foot, the holistic principle of diabetic foot standardized management, and the telemedicine application in the late epidemic period.
ObjectiveTo assess the effects of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic on patients with infantile epileptic spasms syndrome and their parents through an online questionnaire survey.MethodsThis study was a cross-sectional study conducted from May to June 2022. The questionnaire focused on seizure attacks, medical visits, and the mental health assessment of parents. ResultsA total of 67 patients with infantile epileptic spasms syndrome were included in this study. During the epidemic, 25.37% of the patients experienced increased spasms, and 73.13% of the patients had limited commercial availability of anti-seizure medications, mainly vigabatrin and clobazam. All patients had difficulty seeking medical services, and about 73.13% of them used telemedicine service. In addition, 31.34% of parents felt anxious, and 73.14% had different degrees of depressive symptoms. ConclusionThe difficulty in seeking medical services, limited commercial availability of anti-seizure medications, and the anxiety and depressive states of parents during the COVID-19 pandemic aggravate the difficulty in management of patients with infantile epileptic spasms syndrome. Improvement of the health care system and medication management strategy, as well as reasonable use of telemedicine service, may help solve this problem.
The increasing prevalence of the aging population, and inadequate and uneven distribution of medical resources, have led to a growing demand for telemedicine services. Gait disturbance is a primary symptom of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study proposed a novel approach for the quantitative assessment and analysis of gait disturbance from two-dimensional (2D) videos captured using smartphones. The approach used a convolutional pose machine to extract human body joints and a gait phase segmentation algorithm based on node motion characteristics to identify the gait phase. Moreover, it extracted features of the upper and lower limbs. A height ratio-based spatial feature extraction method was proposed that effectively captures spatial information. The proposed method underwent validation via error analysis, correction compensation, and accuracy verification using the motion capture system. Specifically, the proposed method achieved an extracted step length error of less than 3 cm. The proposed method underwent clinical validation, recruiting 64 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 46 healthy controls of the same age group. Various gait indicators were statistically analyzed using three classic classification methods, with the random forest method achieving a classification accuracy of 91%. This method provides an objective, convenient, and intelligent solution for telemedicine focused on movement disorders in neurological diseases.