Authors (including presenting author) :
LAU WK
Affiliation :
Department of Physiotherapy, Caritas Medical Centre
Introduction :
Infection control measures have been reinforced since the outbreak of COVID-19. The reduction in education class at Caritas Medical Centre Physiotherapy Department resulted in an extended waiting time in conventional OA knee class from 198 days in 2019 to 242 days in 2020. It created a demand for early intervention for patients with OA knee. Patients attending out-patient(OP) physiotherapy were also advised to reduce the frequency of subsequent visits if possible. The new service mode (combined telecare and face-to-face OP service) was introduced to cope with the service demand.
Objectives :
To evaluate the efficacy of the new OP service model with telecare on OA knee patients
Methodology :
Twenty-four OA knee patients were recruited from the current physiotherapy OP waiting list and were offered the combined service. At the initial session, patients were assessed and given an education video on knee care followed by an individualized exercise prescription via exercise pamphlet and/or HAGO app. Two subsequent sessions were conducted on a weekly basis via telecare for progress monitoring and exercise modification. Patients were reassessed and directly discharged at the 4th session. Numeric Pain Rating Scale(NPRS), Manual Muscle Testing(MMT), Timed-Up-and-Go Test(TUG), 30 Second Sit-To-Stand test(30STS), and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score(KOOS) were assessed at the initial and final sessions. A 4-point-scale satisfaction survey was taken to evaluate the subjective feedback of the service. The result was compared to conventional OA knee class data retrospectively to evaluate the effectiveness of the new service mode.
Result & Outcome :
1.To explore an alternative mode of service for OA knee patients under COVID-19. 2.To provide patients with early OA knee intervention while maintaining social distancing 3.To reduce the waiting time for physiotherapy intervention
1. Among 24 patients receiving telecare service, significant improvement (within group) was found in NPRS (p < 0.05, paired t-test), quadriceps strength (p < 0.05, paired t-test), TUG (p < 0.05, paired t-test), 30STS (p < 0.05, paired t-test) and KOOS (p < 0.05, paired t-test) after the intervention. 2. The survey revealed that all patients were satisfied with the service, averaging 3.42 out of 4 on a satisfaction scale. 3. When comparing this new service to conventional OA knee class, no significant difference in the change of KOOS was observed, suggesting it can be an alternative for the increasing service demand in the future 4. The average waiting time of receiving this new service was 142 days. 5. When comparing the mode of exercise prescription, more improvement was found in patients receiving exercise through HAGO than those receiving exercise pamphlets alone, suggesting a potential additional effect brought by the use of HAGO.
