JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In oncohematological patients, the development of the disease and antineoplastic treatment have a high prevalence of adverse effects that compromise their physical and nutritional status. In the era of digital transformation, we have launched a pioneering project in oncohematology patients to promote adherence to a healthy lifestyle and improve their physical and nutritional well-being by involving doctors and nutritionists through the Nootric App.

Objective:

To assess the impact of the use of e-Health tools, in the field of nutrition and well-being, for the management of oncohematological patients in the health environment. To evaluate whether nutritional management and exercise are associated with improved tolerance to chemotherapy treatments in patients in routine clinical practice.

Methods:

We designed a descriptive, observactional, longitudinal, prospective cohort pilot study . The inclusion criteria were: adults over 18 years of age diagnosed with oncohematological pathology in active chemotherapy treatment. An action plan was created to generate alerts between doctor and nutritionist. At the beginning, the patient is educated to manage the App as well as education on the importance of good nutrition and physical exercise. Sociodemographic, clinical-biological data (malnutrition index, proteins, vitamin B12, etc.), healthcare impact, usability and patient adherence were collected.

Results:

We have included 22 patients, 11 women and 11 men, age range between 42 and 84 years, follow-up of 3 months. Of these, 13 followed the program. The most frequent blood diseases were lymphoproliferative syndromes (13 out of 22 patients, 59%), multiple myeloma (4 out of 22 patients, 18%). 15 out of 22 patients (70%) received immunochemotherapy, while 7 out of 22 patients (30%) received biological treatment. No worsening of clinical-biological parameters was observed. An adherence rate of 81% was observed. No admission was observed due to gastrointestinal toxicity or discontinuation of treatment related to alterations in physical and nutritional well-being. In addition, only 5.5% of unscheduled consultations were increased due to incidents in well-being, being mostly telematic. 54% of patients (12 out of 22 patients) reported an improvement in their nutritional habits and up to 45% (10 out of 22 patients) required adjustment of medical supportive treatment due to digestive toxicity. There were no cases of grade 3 or greater gastrointestinal toxicity. Patient satisfaction was 4.3/5 s and 4.8/5 professional satisfaction.

Conclusions:

We have demonstrated the usefulness of new technologies through the multidisciplinary approach, the interrelation between the medical team and nutritionists and the patient through the Nootric app allowed to detect health problems early and anticipate a major complication and a potentially avoidable risk with a decrease in unscheduled visits and admissions related to gastrointestinal toxicity. Therefore, its implementation in the management of oncohematological patients in routine clinical practice could be cost-effective both in the short and long term. Clinical Trial: n/A