Tablet PC-enabled application intervention for patients with gastric cancer undergoing gastrectomy

Gastric cancer is among the most common gastrointestinal cancers worldwide. Patients who have undergone surgery for gastric cancer may suffer from malnutrition and potential consequences such as gastrointestinal complications, surgical stress, and cancer cachexia. A tablet PC-based intervention via a mobile application might enhance the early recovery of postgastrectomy patients.

The aim of this study was to develop and test a tablet personal computer (PC)-assisted intervention to hasten the recovery of postgastrectomy cancer patients with respect to nutritional status.

This single-arm pilot study investigated a tablet PC application developed to serve the functions of nutritional monitoring, medical information management, drainage follow-up, and wound care. All services were delivered by medical professionals.

Twenty consecutive gastrectomy patients at the National Taiwan University Hospital received perioperative care via this application (App group). During the study period, we retrospectively collected an additional 20 demographically matched gastrectomy cases as a control group. The App group had a lower body weight loss percentage relative to the control group during a 6-month follow-up period (4.8±1.2% vs. 8.7±2.4%; p<0.01). However, the patients in the App group had more outpatient clinic (OPC) visits than did those in the control group (9.8±0.9 vs. 5.6±0.8; p<0.01).

This study supported the feasibility of a tablet PC-based application for the perioperative care of gastric cancer subjects to promote a lower body weight loss and the collection of comprehensive surgical records.