In recent years, the rapid development of information and communication technology, big data, and artificial intelligence has provided technical support for exploring new medical methods, leading to the emergence of digital therapeutics (DTx). At present, the application of DTx in orthopedics is still in the preliminary exploration stage. Therefore, based on the authors’ experience of applying DTx, this article summarizes the definition and formation process of DTx, as well as the relationship among digital health, digital medicine, and DTx, evaluates the working principles and application effects of existing orthopedic related DTx products, analyzes their shortcomings in the application process, and looks forward to their future development trends, aiming to lay a foundation for the comprehensive development and application of DTx in orthopedics.
[Abstract]With the increasing incidence of lung cancer in the elderly, how to improve the quality and speed of postoperative recovery on the basis of ensuring the therapeutic effect has become an important issue in surgical management. The postoperative recovery process of elderly patients with lung cancer shows higher complexity and challenge due to their unique frailty, comorbidity burden and treatment response. This article will focus on the postoperative rehabilitation strategy, systematically sort out the physiological, pathological and treatment response characteristics of postoperative recovery in elderly patients with lung cancer, propose five postoperative rehabilitation intervention modules based on the enhanced recovery after surgery concept, and further integrate the three challenges of insufficient compliance, research heterogeneity and health economic barriers, and propose a breakthrough method with precise rehabilitation and digital management as the core, providing theoretical support and practical guidance for the optimization and implementation of postoperative rehabilitation programs for elderly patients with lung cancer.
The full-cycle rehabilitation management for orthopedic patients can solve the problems of standardization, systematization, and whole process of orthopaedic rehabilitation management, and prevent short-term and long-term complications. The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University has constructed a full-cycle rehabilitation management platform for orthopedic patients based on multi-source data since 2023, including six modules: multi-source data collection and integration module, intelligent individualized rehabilitation program setting module, and visual rehabilitation training module, and has explored a digitally-driven full-cycle rehabilitation management mode for orthopedic patients. This article elaborates on the platform’s functional design and implementation, full-cycle rehabilitation management mode, and application effectiveness, in order to provide a reference for promoting the integration of mobile health and orthopedic patient rehabilitation practice.
Objective To explore the current status of digital health literacy among elderly orthopedic perioperative patients and its influencing factors, and to provide a basis for optimizing perioperative management and improving patients’ health management level. Methods Utilizing convenience sampling, elderly orthopedic perioperative patients from China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University were chosen as the subjects between January and April 2024. For the purpose of the questionnaire investigation, the orthopedic patient functional exercise compliance scale, eHealth Literacy Scale, Social Support Rating Scale, and general information questionnaire were utilized. We employed univariate analysis and multiple linear stratified regression to investigate the factors influencing digital health literacy. Pearson correlation analysis was utilized to explore the interrelationships among variables. Results A total of 143 patients were investigated. Among them, there were 53 males and 90 females. The average age was (69.91±6.35) years old. The average score of the eHealth Literacy Scale was (18.25±9.45) points, the average score of the Social Support Rating Scale was (38.44±7.76) points, and the average score of the orthopedic patient functional exercise compliance scale was (55.16±14.28) points. The determinants of digital health literacy in older orthopedic perioperative patients were social support and educational attainment (P<0.05). Social support and functional exercise adherence were mediated, in part, by digital health literacy (P<0.001). Conclusions The digital health literacy in elderly orthopedic perioperative is generally at a low level. Healthcare professionals need to pay particular attention to patients with lower levels of education. Meanwhile, efforts should be made to enhance patients’ social support from multiple dimensions, in order to improve their digital health literacy and lay a solid foundation for the precise implementation of digital health management during the perioperative.