Comparison of Periodic in-Person and Remote Visits via Smartphone Applications during COVID-19 Pandemic in Clinical Follow-up of Range of Motion in Patients with Distal Radius Fracture

BACKGROUND: Wrist function has a significant impact on quality of life, which is why restoring normal wrist movement after surgery is so important. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the restrictions imposed on “face-to-face” visits, using smartphones has become more important in tracking patients. The main purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of telemedicine in following up patients who had undergone distal radius fracture operation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From February to October 2020, 126 patients between 20 and 60 years old were randomly selected at our orthopedic trauma center. All patients were visited in person by an orthopedic surgeon in the morning (control group) and again all of them were visited online via smartphone in the evening by another orthopedic surgeon (case group). Both visits were done at regular intervals in the 2(nd), 6(th), and 12(th) weeks after surgery. Patients were evaluated for extremity function outcomes and joint range of motion. RESULTS: The two groups were similar in terms of mean Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation score and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score and did not show a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in wrist range of motion measurements between the two groups (in-person visits and smartphone visits) during the follow-ups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Changes in wrist range of motion after surgery can be assessed with high accuracy using smartphone applications and this method can be considered as a proper alternative to frequent in-person visits to evaluate postsurgical wrist condition.