Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jun 21;7(6):e12645.
doi: 10.2196/12645.

Mobile Health Management Platform-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Prospective Clinical Trial

Wonjun Ji #  1 , Hee Kwon #  2 , Sungin Lee  2 , Seulgi Kim  1 , Jeong Sook Hong  1 , Yu Rang Park  3 , Hyeong Ryul Kim  3 , Jae Cheol Lee  4 , Eun Ji Jung  2 , Donghyun Kim  2 , Chang-Min Choi  1   4
Affiliations

Mobile Health Management Platform-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Prospective Clinical Trial

Wonjun Ji et al. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. .

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer patients experience various symptoms during treatment. Although pulmonary rehabilitation is an effective way to improve these symptoms, a medical environment of limited availability makes it difficult to provide seamless and adequate rehabilitation for lung cancer patients.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a personalized pulmonary rehabilitation program using real-time mobile patient health data for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: We conducted a prospective clinical trial in 64 patients with non-small cell lung cancer aged between 20 and 80 years at a large tertiary hospital in Seoul, South Korea. A 12-week personalized pulmonary rehabilitation program, called efil breath, was administered to determine the effectiveness of the newly developed rehabilitation app. Participants were randomly allocated to the fixed exercise or fixed-interactive exercise group (which received the personalized program). We measured changes in 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) and dyspnea (modified Medical Research Council [mMRC] score) at 6 weeks; and quality of life and service satisfaction at 12 weeks. We used the paired t test to analyze the variables.

Results: Patients used the newly developed mobile health pulmonary rehabilitation app and a real-time patient monitoring website. In all participants, significant changes were observed in 6MWD at 12 weeks from a mean of 433.43m (SD 65.60) to 471.25m (SD 75.69; P=.001), and mMRC from a mean score of 0.94 (0.66) to 0.61 (SD 0.82; P=.02). The intervention significantly improved their quality of life (EuroQol-visual analog scale [EQ-VAS]) compared with baseline (mean score 76.05, SD 12.37 vs 82.09, SD 13.67, respectively; P=.002).

Conclusions: A personalized mobile health-based pulmonary rehabilitation app for recording and monitoring real-time health data of patients with non-small cell lung cancer can supplement traditional health care center-based rehabilitation programs. This technology can encourage improvement of physical activity, dyspnea, and quality of life.

Keywords: carcinoma, non-small-cell lung; lung cancer; mHealth; pulmonary rehabilitation; telemedicine; telerehabilitation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study design. (A) Flow of the proof-of-concept study; (B) flow of the clinical trial.
Figure 2
Figure 2
App screenshots showing (A) the 6-minute walk test, (B) exercise routines, and (C) a summary of the results.
Figure 3
Figure 3
App screenshots for the walking exercise showing (A) the operation screen, (B) standby screen, and (C) measurement of dyspnea.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Patient health data screen showing detailed information about exercise and health measurements for a fictional patient.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Flow of the study groups. (a) Participants using the fixed-regimen app; (b) participants using the interactive-regimen app. IC: informed consent.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2018. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018 Jan;68(1):7–30. doi: 10.3322/caac.21442. doi: 10.3322/caac.21442. - DOI - DOI - PubMed
    1. Morrison EJ, Novotny PJ, Sloan JA, Yang P, Patten CA, Ruddy KJ, Clark MM. Emotional problems, quality of life, and symptom burden in patients with lung cancer. Clin Lung Cancer. 2017 Dec;18(5):497–503. doi: 10.1016/j.cllc.2017.02.008. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Iyer S, Roughley A, Rider A, Taylor-Stokes G. The symptom burden of non-small cell lung cancer in the USA: a real-world cross-sectional study. Support Care Cancer. 2014 Jan;22(1):181–7. doi: 10.1007/s00520-013-1959-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cheville AL, Novotny PJ, Sloan JA, Basford JR, Wampfler JA, Garces YI, Jatoi A, Yang P. Fatigue, dyspnea, and cough comprise a persistent symptom cluster up to five years after diagnosis with lung cancer. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2011 Aug;42(2):202–12. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.10.257. http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/21398090 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Koczywas M, Williams AC, Cristea M, Reckamp K, Grannis FW, Tiep BL, Uman G, Ferrell B. Longitudinal changes in function, symptom burden, and quality of life in patients with early-stage lung cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2013 Jun;20(6):1788–97. doi: 10.1245/s10434-012-2741-4. http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/23143593 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types