Mobile application to monitor inflammatory bowel disease patients on intravenous biologic treatment: a feasibility study

Abstract

Background Monitoring of IBD patients on intravenous biologic treatment is recommended but time-consuming for patients and nurses. We developed a mobile application (app) to promote self-management and studied its feasibility in clinical practice. Methods Adult IBD patients treated with intravenous infliximab or vedolizumab used the app over four biologic treatments. The app includes information modules and an interactive timeline with notifications of blood tests and health checks before treatment. Results In total, 55 patients participated of whom 71% had Crohn’s disease and 85% used infliximab. Compliance with health checks and blood tests was 67% before the first biologic treatment and 70, 87, and 80% before the second, third, and fourth treatment, respectively. The median number of times the app was used per treatment varied from 6 to 8 times (≥4 considered sufficient). Patients were satisfied with the app [median VAS score 8 (IQR 7–9)] and remained equally satisfied with IBD care [score 8 (IQR 8–9) before and after app use]. Nurses contacted all patients by telephone before the first biologic treatment, as previous standard care. Before the second, third, and fourth treatment only 47, 35, and 49% of patients were contacted. The majority (92%) wanted to continue using the app after the study. Conclusions Monitoring of IBD patients treated with intravenous biologics using an app is feasible. We saw high compliance, sufficient app use, and high patient satisfaction. Moreover, health-care utilization was reduced and almost all patients preferred using the app over previous standard care (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04254614).