TY - JOUR
T1 - Is telehealth useful in the management of placenta accreta spectrum in low-resource settings? Results of an exploratory survey
AU - Nieto-Calvache, Albaro José
AU - Fox, Karin A.
AU - Jauniaux, Eric
AU - Maya, Juliana
AU - Stefanovic, Vedran
AU - Weizsäcker, Katharina
AU - van Beekhuizen, Heleen
AU - Adu-Bredu, Theophilus
AU - Collins, Sally
AU - Siaulys, Monica
AU - Hussein, Ahmed M.
AU - Duvekot, Johannes
AU - Aryananda, Rozi
AU - Nieto-Calvache, Alejandro Solo
AU - Pajkrt, Eva
AU - Rijken, Marcus J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Objective: The optimal management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) requires the participation of multidisciplinary teams that are often not locally available in low-resource settings. Telehealth has been increasingly used to manage complex obstetric conditions. Few studies have explored the use of telehealth for PAS management, and we aimed evaluate the usage of telehealth in the management of PAS patients in low-resource settings. Methods: Between March and April 2023, an observational, survey-based study was conducted, and obstetricians-gynecologists with expertise in PAS management in low- and middle-income countries were contacted to share their opinion on the potential use of telehealth for the diagnosis and management of patients at high-risk of PAS at birth. Participants were identified based on their authorship of at least one published clinical study on PAS in the last 5 years and contacted by email. This is a secondary analysis of the results of that survey. Results: From 158 authors contacted we obtained 65 responses from participants in 27 middle-income countries. A third of the participants reported the use of telehealth during the management obstetric emergencies (38.5%, n = 25) and PAS (36.9%, n = 24). Over 70% of those surveyed indicated that they had used “informal” telemedicine (phone call, email, or text message) during PAS management. Fifty-nine participants (90.8%) reported that recommendations given remotely by expert colleagues were useful for management of patients with PAS in their setting. Conclusion: Telehealth has been successfully used for the management of PAS in middle-income countries, and our survey indicates that it could support the development of specialist care in other low resource settings.
AB - Objective: The optimal management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) requires the participation of multidisciplinary teams that are often not locally available in low-resource settings. Telehealth has been increasingly used to manage complex obstetric conditions. Few studies have explored the use of telehealth for PAS management, and we aimed evaluate the usage of telehealth in the management of PAS patients in low-resource settings. Methods: Between March and April 2023, an observational, survey-based study was conducted, and obstetricians-gynecologists with expertise in PAS management in low- and middle-income countries were contacted to share their opinion on the potential use of telehealth for the diagnosis and management of patients at high-risk of PAS at birth. Participants were identified based on their authorship of at least one published clinical study on PAS in the last 5 years and contacted by email. This is a secondary analysis of the results of that survey. Results: From 158 authors contacted we obtained 65 responses from participants in 27 middle-income countries. A third of the participants reported the use of telehealth during the management obstetric emergencies (38.5%, n = 25) and PAS (36.9%, n = 24). Over 70% of those surveyed indicated that they had used “informal” telemedicine (phone call, email, or text message) during PAS management. Fifty-nine participants (90.8%) reported that recommendations given remotely by expert colleagues were useful for management of patients with PAS in their setting. Conclusion: Telehealth has been successfully used for the management of PAS in middle-income countries, and our survey indicates that it could support the development of specialist care in other low resource settings.
KW - e-health
KW - low- and middle-income countries
KW - m-health
KW - placenta accreta spectrum
KW - telehealth
KW - telemedicine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85188718956&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ijgo.15474
DO - 10.1002/ijgo.15474
M3 - Article
C2 - 38509726
SN - 0020-7292
JO - International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
JF - International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
ER -