Department of Oral- and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany.
Private Practice, In den Weingärten 4, 67551 Worms, Germany.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 15;19(6):3444. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063444.
(1) Background: Born out of necessity, the implementation of digital processes experienced significant increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, telemedicine offered a bridge to care and now an opportunity to reinvent virtual and hybrid care models, with the goal of improved healthcare access, outcomes, and affordability. The aim of this monocentric prospective, randomized trial was to compare conventional to telephone follow-up after minor dentoalveolar surgery on the basis of special aftercare questionnaires. (2) Methods: Sixty patients who underwent dentoalveolar surgery under local anesthesia were randomly assigned to both groups. After an average of four days, either telephone follow-up (test) or conventional personal aftercare (control) was performed. Based on the questionnaire, the following subject areas were evaluated: symptoms, complications, satisfaction with practitioner, travel, and waiting time, as well as the preferred form of follow-up care. (3) Results: There was no statistically significant difference regarding frequency of symptoms or complication rate. Patients who were assigned to the test group showed a clear tendency to prefer telephone follow-up (83.3%) to conventional aftercare (16.7%, = 0.047). (4) Conclusions: The data suggest high acceptance of telephone-only follow-up after dentoalveolar surgery. The implementation of telemedicine could be a time- and money-saving alternative for both patients and healthcare professionals and provide healthcare access regardless of time and space.
(1) 背景：数字流程的实施是出于必要性，在 COVID-19 大流行期间经历了显著增长。在这里，远程医疗提供了一种护理桥梁，现在有机会重新设计虚拟和混合护理模式，目标是改善医疗保健的可及性、结果和可负担性。这项单中心前瞻性、随机试验的目的是根据特殊的随访问卷，比较常规和电话随访在小型牙槽外科手术后的效果。(2) 方法：将 60 名在局部麻醉下接受牙槽外科手术的患者随机分配到两组。平均 4 天后，进行电话随访（试验）或常规个人随访（对照）。根据问卷，评估以下主题领域：症状、并发症、对医生的满意度、旅行和等待时间，以及首选的随访护理方式。(3) 结果：在症状发生频率或并发症发生率方面，两组间无统计学差异。被分配到试验组的患者明显更倾向于选择电话随访（83.3%）而不是常规随访（16.7%，=0.047）。(4) 结论：数据表明，患者对牙槽外科手术后仅电话随访的接受度很高。远程医疗的实施可以为患者和医疗保健专业人员节省时间和金钱，并提供无论时间和空间限制都可获得的医疗保健。
