Telemedicine and remote monitoring in cystic fibrosis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Guidelines for cystic fibrosis (CF) care recommend multidisciplinary teams see patients at least quarterly with frequent measurement of spirometry and collection of respiratory cultures. This can be burdensome for people with CF, particularly if they live far from a specialized care center. This has led to an interest in telehealth coupled with remote monitoring. We review the recent literature on these topics for people with CF.

RECENT FINDINGS

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a move toward remote delivery of CF care and multiple recent publications have reported on the feasibility of telehealth, remote spirometry, remote collection of respiratory cultures, adherence monitoring, cough assessment, symptom monitoring and activity tracking. Useful data can be obtained and both clinicians and patients have favorable opinions about remote delivery of healthcare, though the impact on clinical outcomes is not yet known.

SUMMARY

Telehealth and remote monitoring for people with CF is feasible and has grown in use, though it is too early to know how prominently these approaches will fit into routine care for CF.