Page 57 - Livre électronique des RFTP 2025

P15. TITLE: IMPACT OF PHONE-BASED TELEMEDICINE ON

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS AND HOSPITAL

ADMISSIONS IN COPD PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED

CONTROLLED TRIAL

RANIA KADDOUSSI ¹, * SARA TRIMECH¹, MARIEM GASSOUMI ¹, KHAOULA BEL HAJ ALI ²,
EKRAM HAJJI ³, IKRAM CHAMTOURI ⁴, RANDA DHAOUI ², NESRINE FAHEM ², MERIEM
KHALIFA ², WAFA DHOUIB ⁵, MOHAMED AMINE MSOLLY ², ADEL SEKMA ², HAMDI
BOUBAKER ², WAHID BOUIDA ² AND SEMIR NOUIRA ²

¹ DEPARTMENT OF PNEUMOLOGY, FATTOUMA BOURGUIBA HOSPITAL
² EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AND RESEARCH LABORATORY LR12SP18, FATTOUMA BOURGUIBA
UNIVERSITY
³ DEPARTEMENT OF ENDOCRINOLOGY, FATTOUMA BOURGUIBA HOSPITAL,
⁴ DEPARTMENT OF CARDIOLOGY B, FATTOUMA BOURGUIBA HOSPITAL,
⁵ DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICE, FATTOUMA BOURGUIBA HOSPITAL

Introduction : Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a
significant public health concern, characterized by the occurrence of acute
exacerbations (AECOPD). Telemedicine, as an accessible educational tool to aid
healthcare providers in offering continuous support and monitoring for COPD
patients.

Objectives : This study aimed to determine the impact of therapeutic education via
phone-based telemedicine on emergency department (ED) visits and first hospital
admission for AECOPD.

Methods : This is a randomized controlled trial carried out in the ED of Fattouma

Bourguiba Monastir over a period of 7 months, including patients admitted with
AECOPD. Patients were randomly assigned to receive standard care (STD) or
weekly phone-based telemonitoring (TLM).

Results : A total of 163 patients were included, 57 patients in the TLM group and
106 patients in the STD group. Patients were predominantly males with 46 men in
the TLM group and 66 men in the STD group. The mean age was 66.5 years old ±
12.4. A higher percentage of patients living more than 10 km away from the hospital
was noted in the TLM group (39.6%) compared to the STD group (24.6%), with no
statistically significant difference. The TLM group had a significantly lower risk of ED
visits for AECOPD compared to the STD group (7 vs. 35.8%, respectively), with an
odds ratio of 0.13 (95% CI: 0.04–0.40) and a p-value ≤ 0.001. Time to first hospital
admission caused by AECOPD was also longer in the TLM group compared to the
STD group (2.2 ± 0.5 months vs. 1.5 ± 0.8 months, p = 0.04).

Conclusion : Telemedicine represents an innovative approach that could prevent
exacerbations by improving the management of COPD disease.

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