Effectiveness of telerehabilitation on short-term quality of life of patients after esophageal cancer surgery during COVID-19: a single-center, randomized, controlled study.

Abstract

Background\nThe occurrence of postoperative complications may lead to delayed recovery and a decline in physical function in the first 3 months after esophagectomy. The outbreak of COVID-19 imposed physical and emotional obstacles for traditional face-to-face rehabilitation. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of telerehabilitation remained unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of telerehabilitation.\n\n\nMethods\nA cohort of 86 patients who received minimally invasive esophagectomy between September 2020 and January 2021 was randomly allocated into two groups. The telerehabilitation group received additional online consulting and training, including (I) precautions for nutritional support; (II) swallowing function training; (III) respiratory function training; (IV) guidance and feedback on matters such as patient s current vital signs, wound status, medication, and sleep status. The primary outcome was the change of quality of life (QOL) of each patient at 3 months after surgery.\n\n\nResults\nNo serious adverse events were observed in either group. The telerehabilitation group showed significant improvements in pain using the OLQ-C30 scale (P<0.001), and in choking using the QLQ-OES18 scale (P<0.001). The comparison of the QLQ-C30 and QES-18 score changes at three months after discharge revealed that nearly all aspects in the telerehabilitation group displayed more score changes with significant changes in the appetite loss and pain part (P<0.001 and P<0.05, respectively). The score changes in QLQ-OES18 revealed significant improvement in swallowing saliva (P<0.05), as well slight improvements in choking, dry mouth, taste, and cough without significance.\n\n\nConclusions\nOur study demonstrated that telerehabilitation was at least an important supplement to traditional face-to-face consulting and training for patients after esophageal cancer surgery during the COVID-19 period.\n\n\nTrial Registration\nChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100049186.