| 1. |
- Menditto, Enrica, et al.
(författare)
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Adherence to treatment in allergic rhinitis using mobile technology : The MASK Study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Clinical and Experimental Allergy. - : WILEY. - 0954-7894 .- 1365-2222. ; 49:4, s. 442-460
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Mobile technology may help to better understand the adherence to treatment. MASK-rhinitis (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK for allergic rhinitis) is a patient-centred ICT system. A mobile phone app (the Allergy Diary) central to MASK is available in 22 countries. Objectives: To assess the adherence to treatment in allergic rhinitis patients using the Allergy Diary App. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out on all users who filled in the Allergy Diary from 1 January 2016 to 1 August 2017. Secondary adherence was assessed by using the modified Medication Possession Ratio (MPR) and the Proportion of days covered (PDC) approach. Results: A total of 12143 users were registered. A total of 6949 users reported at least one VAS data recording. Among them, 1887 users reported >= 7 VAS data. About 1195 subjects were included in the analysis of adherence. One hundred and thirty-six (11.28%) users were adherent (MPR >= 70% and PDC <= 1.25), 51 (4.23%) were partly adherent (MPR >= 70% and PDC = 1.50) and 176 (14.60%) were switchers. On the other hand, 832 (69.05%) users were non-adherent to medications (MPR <70%). Of those, the largest group was non-adherent to medications and the time interval was increased in 442 (36.68%) users. Conclusion and clinical relevance: Adherence to treatment is low. The relative efficacy of continuous vs on-demand treatment for allergic rhinitis symptoms is still a matter of debate. This study shows an approach for measuring retrospective adherence based on a mobile app. This also represents a novel approach for analysing medication-taking behaviour in a real-world setting.
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| 2. |
- Bousquet, Jean, et al.
(författare)
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Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) Phase 4 (2018) : Change management in allergic rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity using mobile technology
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. - : Elsevier. - 0091-6749 .- 1097-6825. ; 143:3, s. 864-879
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) has evolved from a guideline by using the best approach to integrated care pathways using mobile technology in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma multimorbidity. The proposed next phase of ARIA is change management, with the aim of providing an active and healthy life to patients with rhinitis and to those with asthma multimorbidity across the lifecycle irrespective of their sex or socioeconomic status to reduce health and social inequities incurred by the disease. ARIA has followed the 8-step model of Kotter to assess and implement the effect of rhinitis on asthma multimorbidity and to propose multimorbid guidelines. A second change management strategy is proposed by ARIA Phase 4 to increase self-medication and shared decision making in rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity. An innovation of ARIA has been the development and validation of information technology evidence-based tools (Mobile Airways Sentinel Network [MASK]) that can inform patient decisions on the basis of a self-care plan proposed by the health care professional.
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| 3. |
- Jacome, Cristina, et al.
(författare)
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Feasibility and Acceptability of an Asthma App to Monitor Medication Adherence : Mixed Methods Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: JMIR mhealth and uhealth. - : JMIR Publications. - 2291-5222. ; 9:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Poor medication adherence is a major challenge in asthma, and objective assessment of inhaler adherence is needed. The InspirerMundi app aims to monitor adherence while providing a positive experience through gamification and social support. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the InspirerMundi app to monitor medication adherence in adolescents and adults with persistent asthma (treated with daily inhaled medication). Methods: A 1-month mixed method multicenter observational study was conducted in 26 secondary care centers from Portugal and Spain. During an initial face-to-face visit, physicians reported patients' asthma therapeutic plan in a structured questionnaire. During the visits, patients were invited to use the app daily to register their asthma medication intakes. A scheduled intake was considered taken when patients registered the intake (inhaler, blister, or other drug formulation) by using the image-based medication detection tool. At 1 month, patients were interviewed by phone, and app satisfaction was assessed on a 1 (low) to 5 (high) scale. Patients were also asked to point out the most and least preferred app features and make suggestions for future app improvements. Results: A total of 107 patients (median 27 [P25-P75 14-40] years) were invited, 92.5% (99/107) installed the app, and 73.8% (79/107) completed the 1-month interview. Patients interacted with the app a median of 9 (P25-P75 1-24) days. At least one medication was registered in the app by 78% (77/99) of patients. A total of 53% (52/99) of participants registered all prescribed inhalers, and 34% (34/99) registered the complete asthma therapeutic plan. Median medication adherence was 75% (P25-P75 25%-90%) for inhalers and 82% (P25-P75 50%-94%) for other drug formulations. Patients were globally satisfied with the app, with 75% (59/79) scoring >= 4,; adherence monitoring, symptom monitoring, and gamification features being the most highly scored components; and the medication detection tool among the lowest scored. A total of 53% (42/79) of the patients stated that the app had motivated them to improve adherence to inhaled medication and 77% (61/79) would recommend the app to other patients. Patient feedback was reflected in 4 major themes: medication-related features (67/79, 85%), gamification and social network (33/79, 42%), symptom monitoring and physician communication (21/79, 27%), and other aspects (16/79, 20%). Conclusions: The InspirerMundi app was feasible and acceptable to monitor medication adherence in patients with asthma. Based on patient feedback and to increase the registering of medications, the therapeutic plan registration and medication detection tool were redesigned. Our results highlight the importance of patient participation to produce a patient-centered and engaging mHealth asthma app.
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| 4. |
- Jacome, Cristina, et al.
(författare)
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Monitoring Adherence to Asthma Inhalers Using the InspirerMundi App : Analysis of Real-World, Medium-Term Feasibility Studies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Medical Technology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2673-3129. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Poor medication adherence is a major challenge in asthma and objective assessment of inhaler adherence is needed. InspirerMundi app aims to monitor inhaler adherence while turning it into a positive experience through gamification and social support.Objective: We assessed the medium-term feasibility of the InspirerMundi app to monitor inhaler adherence in real-world patients with persistent asthma (treated with daily inhaled medication). In addition, we attempted to identify the characteristics of the patients related to higher app use.Methods: Two real-world multicenter observational studies, with one initial face-to-face visit and a 4-month telephone interview, were conducted in 29 secondary care centers from Portugal. During an initial face-to-face visit, patients were invited to use the app daily to register their asthma medication intakes. A scheduled intake was considered taken when patients took a photo of the medication (inhaler, blister, or others) using the image-based medication detection tool. Medication adherence was calculated as the number of doses taken as a percentage of the number scheduled. Interacting with the app =30 days was used as the cut-off for higher app use.Results: A total of 114 patients {median 20 [percentile 25 to percentile 75 (P25-P75) 16-36] years, 62% adults} were invited, 107 (94%) installed the app and 83 (73%) completed the 4-month interview. Patients interacted with the app for a median of 18 [3-45] days, translated on a median use rate of 15 [3-38]%. Median inhaler adherence assessed through the app was 34 [4-73]% when considering all scheduled inhalations for the study period. Inhaler adherence assessed was not significantly correlated with self-reported estimates. Median adherence for oral and other medication was 41 [6-83]% and 43 [3-73]%, respectively. Patients with higher app use were slightly older (p = 0.012), more frequently taking medication for other health conditions (p = 0.040), and more frequently prescribed long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA, p = 0.024). After 4 months, Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) scores improved (p < 0.001), but no differences between patients interacting with the app for 30 days or less were seen.Conclusions: The InspirerMundi app was feasible to monitor inhaler adherence in patients with persistent asthma. The persistent use of this mHealth technology varies widely. A better understanding of characteristics related to higher app use is still needed before effectiveness studies are undertaken.
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| 5. |
- Neves, Ana Luisa, et al.
(författare)
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Determinants of the Use of Health and Fitness Mobile Apps by Patients With Asthma : Secondary Analysis of Observational Studies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Internet Research. - : JMIR Publications. - 1438-8871. ; 23:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Health and fitness apps have potential benefits to improve self-management and disease control among patients with asthma. However, inconsistent use rates have been reported across studies, regions, and health systems. A better understanding of the characteristics of users and nonusers is critical to design solutions that are effectively integrated in patients' daily lives, and to ensure that these equitably reach out to different groups of patients, thus improving rather than entrenching health inequities. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the use of general health and fitness apps by patients with asthma and to identify determinants of usage. Methods: A secondary analysis of the INSPIRERS observational studies was conducted using data from face-to-face visits. Patients with a diagnosis of asthma were included between November 2017 and August 2020. Individual-level data were collected, including age, gender, marital status, educational level, health status, presence of anxiety and depression, postcode, socioeconomic level, digital literacy, use of health services, and use of health and fitness apps. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model the probability of being a health and fitness app user. Statistical analysis was performed in R. Results: A total of 526 patients attended a face-to-face visit in the 49 recruiting centers and 514 had complete data. Most participants were <= 40 years old (66.4%), had at least 10 years of education (57.4%), and were in the 3 higher quintiles of the socioeconomic deprivation index (70.1%). The majority reported an overall good health status (visual analogue scale [VAS] score>70 in 93.1%) and the prevalence of anxiety and depression was 34.3% and 11.9%, respectively. The proportion of participants who reported using health and fitness mobile apps was 41.1% (n=211). Multivariate models revealed that single individuals and those with more than 10 years of education are more likely to use health and fitness mobile apps (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.22, 95%CI 1.05-4.75 and aOR 1.95, 95%CI 1.12-3.45, respectively). Higher digital literacy scores were also associated with higher odds of being a user of health and fitness apps, with participants in the second, third, and fourth quartiles reporting aORs of 6.74 (95%CI 2.90-17.40), 10.30 (95%CI 4.28-27.56), and 11.52 (95%CI 4.78-30.87), respectively. Participants with depression symptoms had lower odds of using health and fitness apps (aOR 0.32, 95%CI 0.12-0.83). Conclusions: A better understanding of the barriers and enhancers of app use among patients with lower education, lower digital literacy, or depressive symptoms is key to design tailored interventions to ensure a sustained and equitable use of these technologies. Future studies should also assess users' general health-seeking behavior and their interest and concerns specifically about digital tools. These factors may impact both initial engagement and sustained use.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Bedard, Annabelle, et al.
(författare)
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Mobile technology offers novel insights into the control and treatment of allergic rhinitis : The MASK study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. - : MOSBY-ELSEVIER. - 0091-6749 .- 1097-6825. ; 144:1, s. 135-143
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Mobile health can be used to generate innovative insights into optimizing treatment to improve allergic rhinitis (AR) control. Objectives: A cross-sectional real-world observational study was undertaken in 22 countries to complement a pilot study and provide novel information on medication use, disease control, and work productivity in the everyday life of patients with AR. Methods: A mobile phone app (Allergy Diary, which is freely available on Google Play and Apple stores) was used to collect the data of daily visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for (1) overall allergic symptoms; (2) nasal, ocular, and asthma symptoms; (3) work; and (4) medication use by using a treatment scroll list including all allergy medications (prescribed and over-the-counter) customized for 22 countries. The 4 most common intranasal medications containing intranasal corticosteroids and 8 oral H-1-antihistamines were studied. Results: Nine thousand one hundred twenty-two users filled in 112,054 days of VASs in 2016 and 2017. Assessment of days was informative. Control of days with rhinitis differed between no (best control), single (good control for intranasal corticosteroid-treated days), or multiple (worst control) treatments. Users with the worst control increased the range of treatments being used. The same trend was found for asthma, eye symptoms, and work productivity. Differences between oral H-1-antihistamines were found. Conclusions: This study confirms the usefulness of the Allergy Diary in accessing and assessing behavior in patients with AR. This observational study using a very simple assessment tool (VAS) on a mobile phone had the potential to answer questions previously thought infeasible.
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| 8. |
- Bousquet, Jean, et al.
(författare)
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ARIA digital anamorphosis : Digital transformation of health and care in airway diseases from research to practice
- 2021
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Ingår i: Allergy. European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0105-4538 .- 1398-9995. ; 76:1, s. 168-190
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Digital anamorphosis is used to define a distorted image of health and care that may be viewed correctly using digital tools and strategies. MASK digital anamorphosis represents the process used by MASK to develop the digital transformation of health and care in rhinitis. It strengthens the ARIA change management strategy in the prevention and management of airway disease. The MASK strategy is based on validated digital tools. Using the MASK digital tool and the CARAT online enhanced clinical framework, solutions for practical steps of digital enhancement of care are proposed.
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| 9. |
- Sousa-Pinto, Bernardo, et al.
(författare)
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Development and validation of combined symptom-medication scores for allergic rhinitis*
- 2022
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Ingår i: Allergy. European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0105-4538 .- 1398-9995. ; 77:7, s. 2147-2162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Validated combined symptom-medication scores (CSMSs) are needed to investigate the effects of allergic rhinitis treatments. This study aimed to use real-life data from the MASK-air® app to generate and validate hypothesis- and data-driven CSMSs.Methods: We used MASK-air® data to assess the concurrent validity, test-retest reliability and responsiveness of one hypothesis-driven CSMS (modified CSMS: mCSMS), one mixed hypothesis- and data-driven score (mixed score), and several data-driven CSMSs. The latter were generated with MASK-air® data following cluster analysis and regression models or factor analysis. These CSMSs were compared with scales measuring (i) the impact of rhinitis on work productivity (visual analogue scale [VAS] of work of MASK-air®, and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment: Allergy Specific [WPAI-AS]), (ii) quality-of-life (EQ-5D VAS) and (iii) control of allergic diseases (Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test [CARAT]).Results: We assessed 317,176 days of MASK-air® use from 17,780 users aged 16-90 years, in 25 countries. The mCSMS and the factor analyses-based CSMSs displayed poorer validity and responsiveness compared to the remaining CSMSs. The latter displayed moderate-to-strong correlations with the tested comparators, high test-retest reliability and moderate-to-large responsiveness. Among data-driven CSMSs, a better performance was observed for cluster analyses-based CSMSs. High accuracy (capacity of discriminating different levels of rhinitis control) was observed for the latter (AUC-ROC = 0.904) and for the mixed CSMS (AUC-ROC = 0.820).Conclusion: The mixed CSMS and the cluster-based CSMSs presented medium-high validity, reliability and accuracy, rendering them as candidates for primary endpoints in future rhinitis trials.
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| 10. |
- Alexandre, Luana, et al.
(författare)
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Patients' Satisfaction with Remote Asthma Medical Follow-Up Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- 2023
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Ingår i: Telemedicine journal and e-health. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 1530-5627 .- 1556-3669. ; 29:9, s. 1383-1389
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The COVID-19 pandemic forced the change of health care services, favoring the use of remote consultations.Objective: To assess the differences in asthma medical follow-up before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate patients' satisfaction regarding remote consultations.Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, web-based study, including 335 Portuguese patients with self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma, was conducted. The survey was available between February and May 2021 and included questions about patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and follow-up (consultations' type and satisfaction in 2019 and 2020). Satisfaction was assessed using 10 statements on different aspects of patient experience (Likert scale 1-5), with a total score between 10 and 50.Results: The 335 patients included had a median [P25-P75] age of 27 [21-43] years and 75% had uncontrolled asthma. Overall, fewer participants had consultations during the pandemic compared to 2019 (161 vs. 185; p < 0.001). Most patients had >= 1 face-to-face consultation both in 2020 and 2019 (131 vs. 184; p < 0.001). In 2020, there was an increase in the proportion of participants reporting >= 1 remote (telephonic plus video) consultation (40% vs. 3%; p < 0.001). This increase was mainly attributed to the use of telephonic consultation (38% vs. video 3%, p < 0.001). Patients' satisfaction was similar in 2020 and 2019 for face-to-face consultations (44 [38-47] and 44 [39-48], p = 0.136). In 2020, satisfaction with remote consultations was slightly lower than with face-to-face (43 [37-46] vs. 44 [38-47], p < 0.001).Conclusions: Even though patients were slightly more satisfied with face-to-face consultations, remote consultations can be an alternative in follow-up services for patients with asthma in the near future.
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| 11. |
- Amaral, Rita, et al.
(författare)
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Profiling Persistent Asthma Phenotypes in Adolescents : A Longitudinal Diagnostic Evaluation from the INSPIRERS Studies
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 18:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We aimed to identify persistent asthma phenotypes among adolescents and to evaluate longitudinally asthma-related outcomes across phenotypes. Adolescents (13-17 years) from the prospective, observational, and multicenter INSPIRERS studies, conducted in Portugal and Spain, were included (n = 162). Latent class analysis was applied to demographic, environmental, and clinical variables, collected at a baseline medical visit. Longitudinal differences in clinical variables were assessed at a 4-month follow-up telephone contact (n = 128). Three classes/phenotypes of persistent asthma were identified. Adolescents in class 1 (n = 87) were highly symptomatic at baseline and presented the highest number of unscheduled healthcare visits per month and exacerbations per month, both at baseline and follow-up. Class 2 (n = 32) was characterized by female predominance, more frequent obesity, and uncontrolled upper/lower airways symptoms at baseline. At follow-up, there was a significant increase in the proportion of controlled lower airway symptoms (p < 0.001). Class 3 (n = 43) included mostly males with controlled lower airways symptoms; at follow-up, while keeping symptom control, there was a significant increase in exacerbations/month (p = 0.015). We have identified distinct phenotypes of persistent asthma in adolescents with different patterns in longitudinal asthma-related outcomes, supporting the importance of profiling asthma phenotypes in predicting disease outcomes that might inform targeted interventions and reduce future risk.
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| 12. |
- Blaschikoff, Ludmilla, et al.
(författare)
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A multidisciplinary study of Iberian Chalcolithic dogs
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Archaeological Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-409X .- 2352-4103. ; 42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Domesticated dogs have been present in the Iberian Peninsula long before other domesticated species, back to the late Palaeolithic period. Their origin is still uncertain, but dogs were already well established during the Chalcolithic period (ca. 5000-4000 BP). This study employed a multidisciplinary approach comprising osteometric, radiographic and palaeogenomic analyses to characterize Chalcolithic Iberian Canis remains. Two Chalcolithic archaeological sites - Leceia, Oeiras, in Portugal, and El Caset ' on de la Era, Villalba de los Alcores, Valladolid, in Spain - were the main focus of this study. Osteometric and odontometric data from eleven other sites in Iberia were also included. Osteometric results show signs of phenotypic variability, likely the result of human-driven selective pressure. Dental radiographic and dental wear analyses allowed age at death estimation for four individuals (two juvenile and two adults). Three Chalcolithic Iberian dogs had their mitogenomes resequenced and the mitochondrial DNA analysis allowed to assign each individual to two of the major known haplogroups - A and C. Molecular sex infered by the chromosomeX/chromosome1 coverage ratio allowed to identify one female and two males. This study unveils some aspects of the Iberian Chalcolithic dogs: these dogs already exhibited various morphotypes whose profiles might be associated to the performance of certain tasks, as well as mitogenomes of two distinct lineages that help tracking the evolutionary paths of Iberian dogs.
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| 13. |
- Bousquet, J. Jean, et al.
(författare)
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Next-generation ARIA care pathways for rhinitis and asthma : a model for multimorbid chronic diseases
- 2019
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Ingår i: Clinical and Translational Allergy. - : BMC. - 2045-7022. ; 9
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: In all societies, the burden and cost of allergic and chronic respiratory diseases are increasing rapidly. Most economies are struggling to deliver modern health care effectively. There is a need to support the transformation of the health care system into integrated care with organizational health literacy.Main body: As an example for chronic disease care, MASK (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK), a new project of the ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) initiative, and POLLAR (Impact of Air POLLution on Asthma and Rhinitis, EIT Health), in collaboration with professional and patient organizations in the field of allergy and airway diseases, are proposing real-life ICPs centred around the patient with rhinitis, and using mHealth to monitor environmental exposure. Three aspects of care pathways are being developed: (i) Patient participation, health literacy and self-care through technology-assisted "patient activation", (ii) Implementation of care pathways by pharmacists and (iii) Next-generation guidelines assessing the recommendations of GRADE guidelines in rhinitis and asthma using real-world evidence (RWE) obtained through mobile technology. The EU and global political agendas are of great importance in supporting the digital transformation of health and care, and MASK has been recognized by DG Sante as a Good Practice in the field of digitally-enabled, integrated, person-centred care.Conclusion: In 20 years, ARIA has considerably evolved from the first multimorbidity guideline in respiratory diseases to the digital transformation of health and care with a strong political involvement.
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| 14. |
- Cachim, Afonso, et al.
(författare)
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Measuring adherence to inhaled control medication in patients with asthma : Comparison among an asthma app, patient self-report and physician assessment
- 2023
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Ingår i: Clinical and Translational Allergy. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7022. ; 13:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundPrevious studies have demonstrated the feasibility of using an asthma app to support medication management and adherence but failed to compare with other measures currently used in clinical practice. However, in a clinical setting, any additional adherence measurement must be evaluated in the context of both the patient and physician perspectives so that it can also help improve the process of shared decision making. Thus, we aimed to compare different measures of adherence to asthma control inhalers in clinical practice, namely through an app, patient self-report and physician assessment.MethodsThis study is a secondary analysis of three prospective multicentre observational studies with patients (≥13 years old) with persistent asthma recruited from 61 primary and secondary care centres in Portugal. Patients were invited to use the InspirerMundi app and register their inhaled medication. Adherence was measured by the app as the number of doses taken divided by the number of doses scheduled each day and two time points were considered for analysis: 1-week and 1-month. At baseline, patients and physicians independently assessed adherence to asthma control inhalers during the previous week using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS 0–100).ResultsA total of 193 patients (72% female; median [P25–P75] age 28 [19–41] years old) were included in the analysis. Adherence measured by the app was lower (1 week: 31 [0–71]%; 1 month: 18 [0–48]%) than patient self-report (80 [60–95]) and physician assessment (82 [51–94]) (p < 0.001). A negligible non-significant correlation was found between the app and subjective measurements (ρ 0.118–0.156, p > 0.05). There was a moderate correlation between patient self-report and physician assessment (ρ = 0.596, p < 0.001).ConclusionsAdherence measured by the app was lower than that reported by the patient or the physician. This was expected as objective measurements are commonly lower than subjective evaluations, which tend to overestimate adherence. Nevertheless, the low adherence measured by the app may also be influenced by the use of the app itself and this needs to be considered in future studies.
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| 15. |
- Holtkötter, Jannis, et al.
(författare)
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Development and Validation of a Digital Image Processing-Based Pill Detection Tool for an Oral Medication Self-Monitoring System
- 2022
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Ingår i: Sensors. - : MDPI AG. - 1424-8220. ; 22:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Long-term adherence to medication is of critical importance for the successful management of chronic diseases. Objective tools to track oral medication adherence are either lacking, expensive, difficult to access, or require additional equipment. To improve medication adherence, cheap and easily accessible objective tools able to track compliance levels are necessary. A tool to monitor pill intake that can be implemented in mobile health solutions without the need for additional devices was developed. We propose a pill intake detection tool that uses digital image processing to analyze images of a blister to detect the presence of pills. The tool uses the Circular Hough Transform as a feature extraction technique and is therefore primarily useful for the detection of pills with a round shape. This pill detection tool is composed of two steps. First, the registration of a full blister and storing of reference values in a local database. Second, the detection and classification of taken and remaining pills in similar blisters, to determine the actual number of untaken pills. In the registration of round pills in full blisters, 100% of pills in gray blisters or blisters with a transparent cover were successfully detected. In the counting of untaken pills in partially opened blisters, 95.2% of remaining and 95.1% of taken pills were detected in gray blisters, while 88.2% of remaining and 80.8% of taken pills were detected in blisters with a transparent cover. The proposed tool provides promising results for the detection of round pills. However, the classification of taken and remaining pills needs to be further improved, in particular for the detection of pills with non-oval shapes.
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| 16. |
- Pereira, Ana Margarida, et al.
(författare)
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Multidisciplinary Development and Initial Validation of a Clinical Knowledge Base on Chronic Respiratory Diseases for mHealth Decision Support Systems
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Internet Research. - : JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC. - 1438-8871. ; 25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most mobile health (mHealth) decision support systems currently available for chronic obstructive respiratory diseases (CORDs) are not supported by clinical evidence or lack clinical validation. The development of the knowledge base that will feed the clinical decision support system is a crucial step that involves the collection and systematization of clinical knowledge from relevant scientific sources and its representation in a human-understandable and computer-interpretable way. This work describes the development and initial validation of a clinical knowledge base that can be integrated into mHealth decision support systems developed for patients with CORDs. A multidisciplinary team of health care professionals with clinical experience in respiratory diseases, together with data science and IT professionals, defined a new framework that can be used in other evidence-based systems. The knowledge base development began with a thorough review of the relevant scientific sources (eg, disease guidelines) to identify the recommendations to be implemented in the decision support system based on a consensus process. Recommendations were selected according to predefined inclusion criteria: (1) applicable to individuals with CORDs or to prevent CORDs, (2) directed toward patient self-management, (3) targeting adults, and (4) within the scope of the knowledge domains and subdomains defined. Then, the selected recommendations were prioritized according to (1) a harmonized level of evidence (reconciled from different sources); (2) the scope of the source document (international was preferred); (3) the entity that issued the source document; (4) the operability of the recommendation; and (5) health care professionals' perceptions of the relevance, potential impact, and reach of the recommendation. A total of 358 recommendations were selected. Next, the variables required to trigger those recommendations were defined (n=116) and operationalized into logical rules using Boolean logical operators (n=405). Finally, the knowledge base was implemented in an intelligent individualized coaching component , pretested with an asthma use case. Initial validation of the knowledge base was conducted internally using data from a population-based observational study of individuals with or without asthma or rhinitis. External validation of the appropriateness of the recommendations with the highest priority level was conducted independently by 4 physicians. In addition, a strategy for knowledge base updates, including an easy-to-use rules editor, was defined. Using this process, based on consensus and iterative improvement, we developed and conducted preliminary validation of a clinical knowledge base for CORDs that translates disease guidelines into personalized patient recommendations. The knowledge base can be used as part of mHealth decision support systems. This process could be replicated in other clinical areas.
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| 17. |
- Pereira, Ana Margarida, et al.
(författare)
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What Do Physicians Think About the Use of Telemedicine to Recruit and Assess Participants in mHealth-Related Clinical Studies as a Consequence of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Telemedicine journal and e-health. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 1530-5627 .- 1556-3669. ; 28:9, s. 1386-1392
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To evaluate physician's opinion and availability to participate in mHealth-related clinical studies with patient recruitment and assessment via telemedicine and to identify characteristics associated with the willingness to participate.Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study, based on an anonymous web survey conducted in May-Jun of 2020 to 237 physicians, from Portugal and Spain that collaborated with an asthma mHealth project (INSPIRERS).Results: Response rate was 51% (n = 120). Most (74%, n = 89) physicians were available to participate in such studies, but 62% anticipated lower recruiting capacity and 40% increased difficulty in obtaining quality data. Physicians aged <= 40 years, from secondary care (vs. general practitioners) and that used apps in personal life or clinical practice were more likely to be available.Conclusions: Three-quarters of the physicians were available to participate in mHealth-related clinical studies with patient recruitment and assessment through telemedicine. Age group, medical specialty, and app use were associated with the willingness to participate.
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| 18. |
- Simoes Cunha, Mafalda, et al.
(författare)
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Symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with persistent asthma : a cross-sectional analysis of the INSPIRERS studies
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 13:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesAnxiety and depression are relevant comorbidities in asthma, but, in Portugal and Spain, data on this topic are scarce. We assessed, in patients with asthma, the frequency of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the European Quality of Life Five Dimension Questionnaire (EQ-5D); the level of agreement between these questionnaires, and the factors associated with these symptoms.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of the INSPIRERS studies. A total of 614 adolescents and adults with persistent asthma (32.6 +/- 16.9 years, 64.7% female) were recruited from 30 primary care centres and 32 allergy, pulmonology and paediatric clinics. Demographic and clinical characteristics, HADS and EQ-5D were collected. A score >= 8 on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety/Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression or a positive answer to EQ-5D item 5 indicated the presence of these symptoms. Agreement was determined by Cohen's kappa. Two multivariable logistic regressions were built.ResultsAccording to HADS, 36% of the participants had symptoms of anxiety and 12% of depression. According to EQ-5D, 36% of the participants had anxiety/depression. The agreement between questionnaires in identifying anxiety/depression was moderate (k=0.55, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.62). Late asthma diagnosis, comorbidities and female gender were predictors of anxiety/depression, while better asthma control, health-related quality of life and perception of health were associated with lower odds for anxiety/depression.ConclusionAt least 1/3 of the patients with persistent asthma experience symptoms of anxiety/depression, showing the relevance of screening these disorders in patients with asthma. EQ-5D and HADS questionnaires showed a moderate agreement in the identification of anxiety/depression symptoms. The identified associated factors need to be further investigated in long-term studies.
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| 19. |
- Sousa-Pinto, Bernardo, et al.
(författare)
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Validity, reliability, and responsiveness of daily monitoring visual analog scales in MASK-air®
- 2021
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Ingår i: Clinical and Translational Allergy. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7022. ; 11:7
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: MASK-air® is an app that supports allergic rhinitis patients in disease control. Users register daily allergy symptoms and their impact on activities using visual analog scales (VASs). We aimed to assess the concurrent validity, reliability, and responsiveness of these daily VASs.Methods: Daily monitoring VAS data were assessed in MASK-air® users with allergic rhinitis. Concurrent validity was assessed by correlating daily VAS values with those of the EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) VAS, the Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) score, and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Allergic Specific (WPAI-AS) Questionnaire (work and activity impairment scores). Intra-rater reliability was assessed in users providing multiple daily VASs within the same day. Test–retest reliability was tested in clinically stable users, as defined by the EQ-5D VAS, CARAT, or “VAS Work” (i.e., VAS assessing the impact of allergy on work). Responsiveness was determined in users with two consecutive measurements of EQ-5D-VAS or “VAS Work” indicating clinical change.Results: A total of 17,780 MASK-air® users, with 317,176 VAS days, were assessed. Concurrent validity was moderate–high (Spearman correlation coefficient range: 0.437–0.716). Intra-rater reliability intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranged between 0.870 (VAS assessing global allergy symptoms) and 0.937 (VAS assessing allergy symptoms on sleep). Test–retest reliability ICCs ranged between 0.604 and 0.878—“VAS Work” and “VAS asthma” presented the highest ICCs. Moderate/large responsiveness effect sizes were observed—the sleep VAS was associated with lower responsiveness, while the global allergy symptoms VAS demonstrated higher responsiveness.Conclusion: In MASK-air®, daily monitoring VASs have high intra-rater reliability and moderate–high validity, reliability, and responsiveness, pointing to a reliable measure of symptom loads.
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| 20. |
- Courbis, Anne-Lise, et al.
(författare)
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Electronic Clinical Decision Support System for allergic rhinitis management : MASK e-CDSS
- 2018
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Ingår i: Clinical and Experimental Allergy. - : WILEY. - 0954-7894 .- 1365-2222. ; 48:12, s. 1640-1653
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) management has changed in recent years following the switch from the concept of disease severity to the concept of disease control, publication of the AR clinical decision support system (CDSS) and development of mobile health (m-health) tools for patients (eg Allergy Diary). The Allergy Diary Companion app for healthcare providers is currently being developed and will be launched in 2018. It incorporates the AR CDSS to provide evidence-based treatment recommendations, linking all key stakeholders in AR management.Objective: To produce an electronic version of the AR CDSS (e-CDSS) for incorporation into the Allergy Diary Companion, to describe the app interfaces used to collect information necessary to inform the e-CDSS and to summarize some key features of the Allergy Diary Companion.Methods: The steps involved in producing the e-CDSS and incorporating it into the Allergy Diary Companion were (a) generation of treatment management scenarios; (b) expert consensus on treatment recommendations; (c) generation of electronic decisional algorithms to describe all AR CDSS scenarios; (d) digitization of these algorithms to form the e-CDSS; and (e) embedding the e-CDSS into the app to permit easy user e-CDSS interfacing.Results: Key experts in the AR field agreed on the AR CDSS approach to AR management and on specific treatment recommendations provided by Allergy Diary Companion. Based on this consensus, decision processes were developed and programmed into the Allergy Diary Companion using Titanium Appcelerator (JavaScript) for IOS tablets. To our knowledge, this is the first time the development of any m-health tool has been described in this transparent and detailed way, providing confidence, not only in the app, but also in the provided management recommendations.Conclusion: The Allergy Diary Companion for providers provides guideline and expert-endorsed AR management recommendations. [MASK paper No 32].
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| 21. |
- Garcia Sanchez, Rosa, et al.
(författare)
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Improved xylose and arabinose utilization by an industrial recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain using evolutionary engineering
- 2010
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Ingår i: Biotechnology for Biofuels. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1754-6834. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Cost-effective fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysate to ethanol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires efficient mixed sugar utilization. Notably, the rate and yield of xylose and arabinose co-fermentation to ethanol must be enhanced. RESULTS: Evolutionary engineering was used to improve the simultaneous conversion of xylose and arabinose to ethanol in a recombinant industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain carrying the heterologous genes for xylose and arabinose utilization pathways integrated in the genome. The evolved strain TMB3130 displayed an increased consumption rate of xylose and arabinose under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Improved anaerobic ethanol production was achieved at the expense of xylitol and glycerol but arabinose was almost stoichiometrically converted to arabitol. Further characterization of the strain indicated that the selection pressure during prolonged continuous culture in xylose and arabinose medium resulted in the improved transport of xylose and arabinose as well as increased levels of the enzymes from the introduced fungal xylose pathway. No mutation was found in any of the genes from the pentose converting pathways. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that characterizes the molecular mechanisms for improved mixed-pentose utilization obtained by evolutionary engineering of a recombinant S. cerevisiae strain. Increased transport of pentoses and increased activities of xylose converting enzymes contributed to the improved phenotype.
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| 22. |
- Jeusfeld, Manfred A., et al.
(författare)
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Deductive reconstruction of MLT* for multi-level modeling
- 2020
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Ingår i: MODELS '20. - New York : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). - 9781450381352
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the last two decades, about a dozen proposals were made to extend object-oriented modeling by multiple abstraction levels. One group of proposals designates explicit levels to objects and classes. The second group uses the powertype pattern to implicitly establish levels. From this group, we consider two proposals, DeepTelos and MLT*. Both have been defined via axioms and both give a central role to the powertype pattern. In this paper, we reconstruct MLT* with the deductive axiomatization style used for DeepTelos. The resulting specification is executed in a deductive database to check MLT* multi-level models for errors and complete them with derived facts that do not have to be explicitly asserted by modelers. This leverages the rich rules of MLT* with the deductive approach underlying DeepTelos. The effort also allows us to clearly establish the relation between DeepTelos and MLT*, in an attempt to clarify the relations between approaches in this research domain. As a byproduct, we supply MLT-Telos as a fully operational deductive implementation of MLT* to the research community.
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| 23. |
- Sousa-Pinto, Bernardo, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of rhinitis treatments using MASK-air® data and considering the minimal important difference
- 2022
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Ingår i: Allergy. European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0105-4538 .- 1398-9995. ; 77:10, s. 3002-3014
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Different treatments exist for allergic rhinitis (AR), including pharmacotherapy and allergen immunotherapy (AIT), but they have not been compared using direct patient data (i.e., “real-world data”). We aimed to compare AR pharmacological treatments on (i) daily symptoms, (ii) frequency of use in co-medication, (iii) visual analogue scales (VASs) on allergy symptom control considering the minimal important difference (MID) and (iv) the effect of AIT.Methods: We assessed the MASK-air® app data (May 2015–December 2020) by users self-reporting AR (16–90 years). We compared eight AR medication schemes on reported VAS of allergy symptoms, clustering data by the patient and controlling for confounding factors. We compared (i) allergy symptoms between patients with and without AIT and (ii) different drug classes used in co-medication.Results: We analysed 269,837 days from 10,860 users. Most days (52.7%) involved medication use. Median VAS levels were significantly higher in co-medication than in monotherapy (including the fixed combination azelastine-fluticasone) schemes. In adjusted models, azelastine-fluticasone was associated with lower average VAS global allergy symptoms than all other medication schemes, while the contrary was observed for oral corticosteroids. AIT was associated with a decrease in allergy symptoms in some medication schemes. A difference larger than the MID compared to no treatment was observed for oral steroids. Azelastine-fluticasone was the drug class with the lowest chance of being used in co-medication (adjusted OR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.71–0.80).Conclusion: Median VAS levels were higher in co-medication than in monotherapy. Patients with more severe symptoms report a higher treatment, which is currently not reflected in guidelines.
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| 24. |
- Sousa-Pinto, Bernardo, et al.
(författare)
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Consistent trajectories of rhinitis control and treatment in 16,177 weeks : the MASK-air® longitudinal study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Allergy. European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0105-4538 .- 1398-9995. ; 78:4, s. 968-983
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Data from mHealth apps can provide valuable information on rhinitis control and treatment patterns. However, in MASK-air®, these data have only been analyzed cross-sectionally, without considering the changes of symptoms over time. We analyzed data from MASK-air® longitudinally, clustering weeks according to reported rhinitis symptoms. Methods: We analyzed MASK-air® data, assessing the weeks for which patients had answered a rhinitis daily questionnaire on all 7 days. We firstly used k-means clustering algorithms for longitudinal data to define clusters of weeks according to the trajectories of reported daily rhinitis symptoms. Clustering was applied separately for weeks when medication was reported or not. We compared obtained clusters on symptoms and rhinitis medication patterns. We then used the latent class mixture model to assess the robustness of results. Results: We analyzed 113,239 days (16,177 complete weeks) from 2590 patients (mean age ± SD = 39.1 ± 13.7 years). The first clustering algorithm identified ten clusters among weeks with medication use: seven with low variability in rhinitis control during the week and three with highly-variable control. Clusters with poorly-controlled rhinitis displayed a higher frequency of rhinitis co-medication, a more frequent change of medication schemes and more pronounced seasonal patterns. Six clusters were identified in weeks when no rhinitis medication was used, displaying similar control patterns. The second clustering method provided similar results. Moreover, patients displayed consistent levels of rhinitis control, reporting several weeks with similar levels of control. Conclusions: We identified 16 patterns of weekly rhinitis control. Co-medication and medication change schemes were common in uncontrolled weeks, reinforcing the hypothesis that patients treat themselves according to their symptoms.
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| 25. |
- Vieira, Rafael Jose, et al.
(författare)
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Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test : A systematic review of measurement properties and COSMIN analysis
- 2022
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Ingår i: Clinical and Translational Allergy. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 2045-7022. ; 12:9
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) is a patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) assessing the control of asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) at a 4 week interval. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the measurement properties of CARAT. Following PRISMA and COSMIN guidelines, we searched five bibliographic databases and retrieved studies concerning the development, assessment of properties, validation, and/or cultural adaption of CARAT. The studies' methodological quality, the quality of measurement properties, and the overall quality of evidence were assessed. We performed meta-analysis of CARAT measurement properties. We included 16 studies. Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test displayed sufficient content validity and very good consistency (meta-analytical Cronbach alpha = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.80-0.86;I-2 = 62.6%). Control of allergic rhinitis and Asthma Test meta-analytical intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91 (95% CI = 0.64-0.98;I-2 = 93.7%). It presented good construct validity, especially for correlations with Patient-reported outcome measures assessing asthma (absolute Spearman correlation coefficients range = 0.67-0.73; moderate quality of evidence), and good responsiveness. Its minimal important difference is 3.5. Overall, CARAT has good internal consistency, reliability, construct validity and responsiveness, despite the heterogeneous quality of evidence. Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test can be used to assess the control of asthma and AR. As first of its kind, this meta-analysis of CARAT measurement properties sets a stronger level of evidence for asthma and/or AR control questionnaires.
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