Telehealth Interventions in Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review
Cancer Nursing
Caputo, M. P., Rodriguez, C. S., et al. (2023).
Cancer Nursing, 46(5), e320-e327.
This systematic review investigates the cost-effectiveness, clinical utility, and accessibility of telepractice-based monitoring and rehabilitation for individuals with head and neck cancer (HNC). This summary highlights conclusions within the scope of speech-language pathology.
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Randomized controlled trials
8
<div>Preliminary results suggest that remote dysphagia treatment, trismus treatment, and/or education/monitoring services may be used to improve dysphagia, oral symptoms, and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with HNC. Specific findings included:</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">There was limited evidence that telehealth interventions improved treatment adherence when compared to self-directed programs. Telepractice interventions had equal adherence when compared to clinician-directed programs (2 studies). </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">Telepractice interventions demonstrated improved rates of trismus when compared to controls, however these interventions had mixed effects for other physical symptoms (2 studies). </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">Telepractice interventions were generally associated with improved QoL (4 studies).</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">Telepractice interventions were significantly cheaper that in-person services while resulting in comparable improvements in QoL (3 studies). </span></li>
</ul>
<div><span style="color: #333333;">Overall, the authors of this review could not draw any definite conclusions about the efficacy of these interventions due to an overall paucity of research, heterogeneity in reported outcomes, and inconsistent findings both across and within studies.</span></div>
