Patient self-reported pain and nausea via smartphone following day care surgery, first year results: An observational cohort study

Abstract

Contact with the hospital is usually limited for patients after day care surgery. Dedicated smartphone applications can improve communication and possibly enhance outcomes. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate patients’ self-reported pain and nausea and assess the success of routine implementation of a smartphone application for outcome reporting. During preoperative assessment, patients were instructed to download and activate the smartphone application to report pain, nausea and to be in contact with the hospital after discharge. Main outcome was the number of patients actively using the smartphone application and the incidence of pain and nausea on postoperative day 1 to 7. In total, 4952 patients were included in the study. A total of 592 (12%) participants downloaded the application, of whom 351 (7%) were active users. A total of 4360 (88%) participants refrained from downloading the application. 56% (2,769) were female, the median age was 46 (18–92), and 4286 (87%) were classified as 1 or 2 American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA). Postoperative pain was experienced by 174 (76%) of 229 active users on postoperative day (POD) 1 and decreased to 44 (44%) of 100 active users on POD7. Postoperative nausea was experienced by 63 (28%) of 229 active users on POD1 and decreased to 12 (12%) of 100 active users on POD7. Female sex (p .000), socioeconomic status (p .001), and surgical severity (p .001) showed statistically significant differences between active users, non-active users, and non-downloaders. Most patients active with the application experienced pain and nausea on the first and second day after discharge. Only a minority of the patients used the application. Those who used it were satisfied with the possibilities offered to them. Future research should focus on increasing the uptake and effect of this application on the quality of recovery.