Introduction
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid growth in the use of telehealth/telemedicine that will likely be sustained in the post-pandemic setting. Mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) can be utilized as part of the telehealth encounter to monitor patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and enhance patient-provider communication.
Methods
A systematic review was performed of mHealth apps that include symptom trackers. We searched the iOS App Store and Andriod Google Play using the words “cancer,” “oncology,” and “symptom tracker.” Apps were included if they incorporated a symptom tracking function that could allow cancer patients to record symptoms and PROs. Apps were evaluated using the Mobile Apps Rating Scale (MARS), which includes engagement, functionality, aesthetics, information, and app subjective quality.
Results
The initial search yielded 1189 apps, with 101 apps eligible after title and description screening. A total of 41 apps met eligibility criteria and were included in this study. The majority of apps (73%, n=30) were general health/pain symptom trackers, while 27% (n=11) were cancer-specific. The app quality mean scores assessed using MARS ranged from 2.43 to 4.23 (out of 5.00). Only one app has been trialed for usability among cancer patients.
Conclusion
While various symptom tracking apps are available, cancer-specific apps remain limited. Future collaboration between oncologists, app developers, and patients to optimize PROs assessment and integration with telehealth/telemedicine encounters to increase symptom recognition and enhance patient-provider communication is urgently needed.
The closely related Frankia strains BR, S21 and Thr, isolated from the genus Casuauinu, All02 and Dec from the genus Allocnsuauina, and GSO from the genus Gymnostoma, could be distinguished by their esterase zymograms after ultra-low gelling point agarose-polyacrylamide electrophoresis. The kanamycin-resistant derivatives S21-kR and BR-kR could also be differentiated from their kanamycin-sensitive parental strains. Different patterns of intracellular esterases could be obtained by using P-naphthyl propionate or 3-iadoxyl acetate as substrates. The substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoxyl acetate proved particularly useful, revealing a variety of esterases from Gymnostoma isolates. Zymograms of aminopeptidases from all strains were found to be quite similar. Nevertheless, they allowed differentiation of Frankia strains BR and S21 from their kanamycin-resistant derivatives. Aminopeptidase and esterase zymograms obtained from Gymnostornu isolates were markedIy different from all others. Zymograms of esterases and aminopeptidases may prove useful for the identification of some other Frankia strains.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.