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
Multicenter Study
. 2022 Jul;27(7):501-509.
doi: 10.1111/resp.14262. Epub 2022 Apr 19.

Home monitoring of lung function, symptoms and quality of life after admission with COVID-19 infection: The HOMECOMIN' study

Gizal Nakshbandi  1 , Catharina C Moor  1 , Esther J Nossent  2 , J J Miranda Geelhoed  3 , Sara J Baart  1 , Bart G Boerrigter  2 , Joachim G J V Aerts  1 , Suzan F M Nijman  2 , Helger Y Santema  3 , Merel E Hellemons  1 , Marlies S Wijsenbeek  1
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Home monitoring of lung function, symptoms and quality of life after admission with COVID-19 infection: The HOMECOMIN' study

Gizal Nakshbandi et al. Respirology. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Background and objective: To develop targeted and efficient follow-up programmes for patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), structured and detailed insights in recovery trajectory are required. We aimed to gain detailed insights in long-term recovery after COVID-19 infection, using an online home monitoring programme including home spirometry. Moreover, we evaluated patient experiences with the home monitoring programme.

Methods: In this prospective multicentre study, we included adults hospitalized due to COVID-19 with radiological abnormalities. For 6 months after discharge, patients collected weekly home spirometry and pulse oximetry measurements, and reported visual analogue scales on cough, dyspnoea and fatigue. Patients completed the fatigue assessment scale (FAS), global rating of change (GRC), EuroQol-5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L) and online tool for the assessment of burden of COVID-19 (ABCoV tool). Mixed models were used to analyse the results.

Results: A total of 133 patients were included in this study (70.1% male, mean age 60 years [SD 10.54]). Patients had a mean baseline forced vital capacity of 3.25 L (95% CI: 2.99-3.44 L), which increased linearly in 6 months with 19.1% (Δ0.62 L, p < 0.005). Patients reported substantial fatigue with no improvement over time. Nevertheless, health status improved significantly. After 6 months, patients scored their general well-being almost similar as before COVID-19. Overall, patients considered home spirometry useful and not burdensome.

Conclusion: Six months after hospital admission for COVID-19, patients' lung function and quality of life were still improving, although fatigue persisted. Home monitoring enables detailed follow-up for patients with COVID-19 at low burden for patients and for the healthcare system.

Keywords: COVID-19; chronic lung disease; coronavirus disease; eHealth; health-related quality of life; home spirometry; patient-reported outcome measures; telemedicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Visualization of the online tool for the assessment of the burden of COVID‐19 (ABCoV tool) over time. Green balloons indicate a satisfactory score, orange balloons an intermediate score and red balloons a low score. Grey balloons represent the location of the previous balloons. (A) ABCoV tool assessed at baseline. (B) ABCoV tool assessed at 3 months. (C) ABCoV tool assessed at 6 months
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Forced vital capacity over time measured with home spirometry (n = 101). The black line indicates the modelled trajectory based on the mixed model results, including the 95% CI in grey
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Patient‐reported outcome measures over time. The black line indicates the modelled trajectory based on the mixed model results, including the 95% CI in grey. (A) Visual analogue scale (VAS) on cough (n = 106). (B) VAS on dyspnoea (n = 106). (C) Global rating of change (n = 109). (D) Fatigue assessment scale (n = 111)
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Patient experiences with the home monitoring app and home spirometry, scored on visual analogue scales from 0 to 10. High scores indicate better experiences with the home monitoring app, except for ‘burdensome’ where scores are reversed
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization . WHO Health Emergency Dashboard. Available from: https://covid19.who.int/. [Cited 28 February 2022].
    1. Reese H, Iuliano AD, Patel NN, Garg S, Kim L, Silk BJ, et al. Estimated incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) illness and hospitalization – United States, February‐September 2020. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;72(12):e1010–e7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020;395(10223):497–506. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Halpin SJ, McIvor C, Whyatt G, Adams A, Harvey O, McLean L, et al. Postdischarge symptoms and rehabilitation needs in survivors of COVID‐19 infection: a cross‐sectional evaluation. J Med Virol. 2021;93(2):1013–22. - PubMed
    1. Moreno‐Pérez O, Merino E, Leon‐Ramirez JM, Andres M, Ramos JM, Arenas‐Jiménez J, et al. Post‐acute COVID‐19 syndrome. Incidence and risk factors: a Mediterranean cohort study. J Infect. 2021;82(3):378–83. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types