LUMC partnered with Medicine Men and Bravis Hospital to conduct a clinical trial on the effectiveness of EmmaCOPD in 2018-2020. The purpose of this study was to understand the effect of EmmaCOPD on the number of lung attacks (exacerbations) and hospitalization days. The use of EmmaCOPD has led to, among other things, a 79% reduction in bed days. The authoritative Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) recently published about this research. At the bottom of this blog is a link to the original JMIR article.
Only COPD patients with at least two severe lung attacks in the 12 months before the start of the study or patients at increased risk of lung attacks could be included in consultation with the pulmonologist.
EmmaCOPD consists of daily and weekly questionnaires in which symptoms are monitored and activity is tracked by Fitbit. The moment symptoms worsened or activity decreased, the patient and caregiver were made aware of this. When symptoms worsen, the Digital Lung Attack action plan has been used. The Digital Lung Attack Action Plan describes what the patient should do when lung symptoms increase. These steps are agreed upon with the pulmonologist/lung nurse. Examples include: taking additional medication or applying breathing techniques.
A total of 29 patients were included for this retrospective clinical study. On average, patients had 2 exacerbations in the 12 months prior to the study, with an average of 8 hospitalization days. Patients were in the study for an average of 587 days (about 20 months) during which they had no mild and normal exacerbations. The number of severe exacerbations with hospitalization decreased by 69%. The number of hospital inpatient days was reduced by 79%.
The study showed that EmmaCOPD is an eHealth application where COPD patients can be supported remotely particularly effectively. By using EmmaCOPD, patients have far fewer exacerbations and are in the hospital less often and for a shorter period of time. The self-management component of EmmaCOPD appears to be an important factor in the success of the intervention.