Abstract
Objectives
This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of telemedicine
in improving the corresponding indicators in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Methods
Computer searches of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were
conducted to collect journal articles on randomized controlled trials and clinical
trials of telemedicine interventions for RA. A meta-analysis was performed using the
risk-of-bias assessment tool Reedman 5.4 software from the Cochrane Handbook.
Results
The systematic assessment includes 17 studies totaling 2,324 patients, with a middling
level of quality across the included research. The findings of this study demonstrated
that individuals with RA had better treatment efficiency in C-reactive protein than
those in the control group (mean difference [MD] = − 21.17, 95% confidence interval
[CI] = − 49.57 to 7.23; p < 0.00001), Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life (MD = − 1.97, 95% CI = − 6.13 to
2.19; p = 0.01), and visual analog scale pain (MD = − 8.53, 95% CI = − 22.70 to 5.64; p = 0.04).
Conclusion
Patients with RA can access specialists worldwide through telemedicine, which can
raise the overall quality of care for RA patients. It has shown to be quite successful
in identifying and evaluating disease activity. By making patient-centeredness a central
factor in the decision-making process, telemedicine improves equitable results and
offers customized treatment regimens.
Keywords
rheumatoid arthritis - telemedicine - telehealth - eHealth - arthritis
