Telehealth has comparable outcomes to in-person diabetic foot care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed obstacles to the delivery of diabetic foot care. In response to this remote healthcare services have been deployed offering monitoring, follow-up, and referral services to patients with diabetic foot ulcers and related conditions. Although, remote diabetic foot care has been studied before the COVID-19 pandemic as an alternative to in-person care, the peculiar situation of the pandemic, which dictates that remote care would be the sole available option for healthcare practitioners and patients, necessitates an evaluation of the relevant knowledge obtained since the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 outbreak. AIM To perform a thorough search in PubMed/Medline and Cochrane to identify original records on the topic. METHODS To identify relevant peer-reviewed publications and gray literature, the authors searched PubMed-MEDLINE and Cochrane Library-Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials starting September 27 till October 31, 2021. The reference lists of the selected sources and relevant systematic reviews were also hand–searched to identify potentially relevant resources. Otherwise, the authors searched Reference Citation Analysis ( ). RESULTS A number of randomized prospective studies, case series, and case reports have shown that the effectiveness of remote care is comparable to in-person care in terms of hospitalizations, amputations, and mortality. The level of satisfaction of patients’ receiving this type of care was high. The cost of remote healthcare was not significantly lower than in - person care though. CONCLUSION It is noteworthy that remote care during the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to be more effective and well - received than remote care in the past. Nevertheless, larger studies spanning over longer time intervals are necessary in order to validate these results and provide additional insights.

Expanding Health Access in Haiti through Telemedicine

“…Unfortunately, this study did not clearly mention the geographic location of the hospital in Haiti. More recently, Kamaratos-Sevdalis et al published a qualitative review of 12 English-language studies of telehealth services for diabetic foot infection from around the world [5]. Based on pre-established criteria, they selected five randomized trials, three case reports, three cohort studies, and one survey for analysis.…”

Efficacy of telemedicine applications in patients with diabetic foot ulcers: A focus on mortality and major amputation rates

“…17 Kamaratos-Sevdalis et al concluded that telemedicine can be applied effectively in diabetic foot care, and they noted that this method applied more effectively during COVID pandemics. 18 Elective and non-urgency surgical interventions have decreased worldwide due to COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown. In the previously published national cohort study, the pandemic group had a lower rate of limb salvage procedures such as debridement.…”

“…Kamaratos‐Sevdalis et al concluded that telemedicine can be applied effectively in diabetic foot care, and they noted that this method applied more effectively during COVID pandemics 18 …”