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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 Jun 22;20(6):e225.
doi: 10.2196/jmir.9943.

Home-Based Rehabilitation With Telemonitoring Guidance for Patients With Coronary Artery Disease (Short-Term Results of the TRiCH Study): Randomized Controlled Trial

Andrea Avila  1 , Jomme Claes  2 , Kaatje Goetschalckx  3 , Roselien Buys  2 , May Azzawi  4 , Luc Vanhees  1 , Véronique Cornelissen  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Home-Based Rehabilitation With Telemonitoring Guidance for Patients With Coronary Artery Disease (Short-Term Results of the TRiCH Study): Randomized Controlled Trial

Andrea Avila et al. J Med Internet Res. .

Abstract

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an essential part of contemporary coronary heart disease management. However, patients exiting a center-based CR program have difficulty retaining its benefits.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the added benefit of a home-based CR program with telemonitoring guidance on physical fitness in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) completing a phase II ambulatory CR program and to compare the effectiveness of this program in a prolonged center-based CR intervention by means of a randomized controlled trial.

Methods: Between February 2014 and August 2016, 90 CAD patients (unblinded, mean age 61.2 years, SD 7.6; 80/90, 89.0% males; mean height 1.73 m, SD 0.7; mean weight 82.9 kg, SD 13; mean body mass index 27.5 kg/m2, SD 3.4) who successfully completed a 3-month ambulatory CR program were randomly allocated to one of three groups: home-based (30), center-based (30), or control group (30) on a 1:1:1 basis. Home-based patients received a home-based exercise intervention with telemonitoring guidance consisting of weekly emails or phone calls; center-based patients continued the standard in-hospital CR, and control group patients received the usual care including the advice to remain physically active. All the patients underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing for assessment of their peak oxygen uptake (VO2 P) at baseline and after a 12-week intervention period. Secondary outcomes included physical activity behavior, anthropometric characteristics, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and quality of life.

Results: Following 12 weeks of intervention, the increase in VO2 P was larger in the center-based (P=.03) and home-based (P=.04) groups than in the control group. In addition, oxygen uptake at the first (P-interaction=.03) and second (P-interaction=.03) ventilatory thresholds increased significantly more in the home-based group than in the center-based group. No significant changes were observed in the secondary outcomes.

Conclusions: Adding a home-based exercise program with telemonitoring guidance following completion of a phase II ambulatory CR program results in further improvement of physical fitness and is equally as effective as prolonging a center-based CR in patients with CAD.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02047942; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02047942 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/70CBkSURj).

Keywords: cardiac rehabilitation; coronary artery disease; exercise; telemonitoring.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow of patients through the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cardiovascular risk factors.No significant changes were found in cardiovascular risk factors for total cholesterol (P-interaction=.82), HDL-cholesterol (P-interaction=.69), LDL-cholesterol (P-interaction=.79), triglycerides (P-interaction=.27), fasting glucose (P-interaction=.71), HOMA index (P-interaction=.93). Dark gray column: home-based group, White column: center-based group, Light grey column: control group. HDL: high-density lipoprotein; HOMA: homeostasis assessment; LDL: how-density lipoprotein.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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