A child has been diagnosed with cancer. He needs months of chemotherapy. Time and again, the family has to take the child to the hospital, often even several times a week. For many affected families, this means hours-long car rides, waiting times, and a daily routine that revolves entirely around the illness. But in the future, some of these appointments could take place from the comfort of their own living room with the help of telemedicine.
Video consultations instead of hospital visits
A study by the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, initiated by Prof. Denis Schewe, shows that this can work. Today, he heads the Pediatric Oncology Center at NCT/UCC Dresden. In the study, doctors replaced some of the follow-up appointments with video consultations. Fifty-five children and adolescents who were receiving particularly intensive chemotherapy for cancer participated. The doctors simply met with the young patients and their parents via computer and spoke with them via video chat.
The evaluation showed that the video consultations were just as safe as in-person care at the hospital. The number of complications did not increase. At the same time, the families collectively saved 337 hospital visits and approximately 42,000 kilometers of travel.
More time for family and siblings
For the families, the use of telemedicine meant one thing above all else: more time. Fewer trips leave more time for siblings, school, or work. While treatment remains stressful, everyday life becomes easier for everyone when not every checkup requires a long trip to the hospital.
The researchers see this as an important step toward the future of pediatric oncology care. Possible approaches include, for example, at-home examinations or mobile treatment teams that care for families on-site while working closely with specialized pediatric cancer centers. This would make it easier to provide care even for families living far from a specialized clinic.
Further research projects in Dresden are already building on these findings. These projects aim to bring medical care for children with cancer even closer to home – for example, through blood tests conducted at home or digital care services.
Original publication:
Denis M. Schewe et al. Safety of Telemedicine Follow-Up Visits in Children With Cancer Undergoing Intensive Chemotherapy: Results From the Randomized KULT-SH Trial. JCO Oncol Pract 0, OP-25-01303
