Telephone Health Coaching and Remote Exercise Monitoring (TeGeCoach) in Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease—a...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Intermittent claudication (IC) is commonly treated with supervised exercise programs.
• Home-based exercise programs aim to reduce participation barriers for IC patients.
• The TeGeCoach program was evaluated for its effect on self-reported walking ability in IC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of the TeGeCoach home-based exercise program.
• To evaluate the impact of TeGeCoach on self-reported walking ability in patients with IC.
• To explore secondary outcomes including quality of life and patient activation.

Main Methods:

• A pragmatic, multicenter randomized controlled trial involving 1982 IC patients.
• Intervention group received TeGeCoach (telephone coaching, remote monitoring); control group received routine care.
• Primary outcome: change in Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ) scores at 12 and 24 months.

Main Results:

• TeGeCoach significantly improved WIQ scores at 12 months (6.30 points) and 24 months (4.55 points).
• Positive effects observed in physical quality of life and patient activation at 12 months.
• No significant difference in average daily step count between groups.

Conclusions:

• Home-based exercise programs like TeGeCoach demonstrate benefits for symptom burden in IC.
• TeGeCoach expands treatment options for guideline-oriented management of intermittent claudication.
• Future research should investigate clinical variables using measures like the 6-minute walk test.