The American Thoracic Society (ATS) hosted its 2021 International Conference from May 14th through the 19th, bringing together pulmonary, critical care, and sleep professionals to discuss new research, technology, and methods for improving global health. Researchers at Koneksa and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals joined other poster session speakers in the telehealth and remote monitoring space to share the details of the pair’s recent study on remote spirometry data collection compliance among patients with mild to moderate asthma.
The results found high compliance across a twenty-eight-day period that supports the effective use of remote spirometry in future clinical trials recruiting asthma patients. For more details, read the study’s abstract in the Online Abstract Issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and view the study’s poster.
A Growing Interest in Remote Spirometry Measures
Handheld spirometers and connected smartphone apps are seeing increased interest among researchers, clinicians, and patients. Not only do they add a new level of convenience to the patient experience, but they also offer opportunities for more frequent data collection and data variability control. Like other remote assessments, remote spirometry has filled a crucial gap in effective care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the ATS and other organizations advised professionals to limit in-clinic visits. In fact, in collaboration with the APCCSDD, the ATS has recently labeled at-home spirometry “a reasonable option” for patients requiring regular pulmonary function testing as the pandemic continues.
Examining Remote Spirometry Patient Compliance
To address concerns regarding patient compliance in remote spirometry, researchers at Koneksa sought to determine whether patients would perform spirometry maneuvers remotely while unsupervised. Compliance Analysis for Remote Spirometry in Subjects with Mild to Moderate Asthma analyzes compliance data over twenty-eight days from three clinical trials of patients with mild to moderate asthma. Two US single-center studies and one UK multi-center study had patients perform at-home pulmonary function tests twice daily, collecting data in the morning and evening with a handheld spirometer and synchronized smartphone application.
A Viable Option for Future Studies
Across the three studies, the twice daily data compliance rate reached 88.9%. Compliance for performing spirometry measures in the designated time windows was 85%, and compliance for not missing a day of data collection over the twenty-eight-day period was 83%. Researchers also observed no decline in the number of compliant subjects and no difference in compliant behaviors when viewing the results by weekday, weekend, or time of day.
The results, which demonstrated good compliance for remote spirometry data collection over twenty-eight days, can be translated to future research in the treatment of asthma. As more life sciences and healthcare professionals explore options for improving patient experiences and obtaining meaningful outcomes, they may begin to consider the use of at-home spirometry in other multi-center clinical trials recruiting asthma patients.
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