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RecruitingNCT05990946Updated Sep 4, 2026

Smartphone-based Remote Symptom Monitoring to Improve Postoperative Rehabilitation Exercise Adherence After Video-assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) for Lung Cancer

An interventional study of ePRO based Remote Symptom Management provide by a mobile phone app in Lung Neoplasms, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Postoperative Complications and Patient Reported Outcome Measures, sponsored by Zhongshan People's Hospital, Guangdong, China. Recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-04.

Sponsored by Zhongshan People's Hospital, Guangdong, China · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
736
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Brief Summary: This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate whether active remote symptom monitoring and management via a smartphone app utilizing electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) can improve adherence to prescribed outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation exercises among postsurgical lung cancer patients. Eligible patients will use the app for perioperative care and be randomized to an intervention group receiving ePRO-based symptom monitoring with clinician feedback or a control group receiving ePRO without feedback. The primary outcome is rehabilitation exercise adherence rate over 1 month after discharge. If proven effective, the app-enabled remote rehabilitation model can be scaled up to enhance recovery for more postoperative patients.

Due to slower-than-expected recruitment, an interim analysis was introduced through a protocol amendment. Before any unblinded between-group efficacy analysis, a blinded review of recruitment progress, data completeness, and outcome-data structure was conducted. Mean weekly exercise duration was subsequently added as a co-primary endpoint to complement the threshold-based exercise adherence outcome. The amendment and revised interim statistical framework were approved by the Ethics Committee before the formal interim analysis and incorporated into the updated study record.

Read the detailed description

Adherence to postoperative pulmonary rehabilitation exercises is crucial but challenging to address in lung cancer patients after hospital discharge. Pain, fatigue, cough and other symptoms may hinder adherence. This study will enroll 736 patients undergoing Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for lung Cancer. All patients will use a smartphone app for perioperative care and periodic PRO measurement. Before discharge, patients will be randomized 1:1 to an intervention group or control group. The intervention group will complete ePRO symptom severity scores on the PSA-Lung Scale questionnaire on discharge and post-discharge days 3, 7, 14, 21, 28. Alerts are triggered if any of 5 core symptoms scored ≥4, prompting remote clinician feedback and guidance. The control group will complete ePRO without clinician alerts. The primary outcome is rehabilitation exercise adherence rate over 1 month after discharge. Secondary outcomes include postoperative complications, hospital readmissions, symptom changes, exercise participation rate, and patient satisfaction. If proven effective, this innovative rehabilitation model can be scaled up to enhance recovery for more postoperative patients.

Due to slower-than-expected recruitment, the DSMB recommended a review of trial progress. Before any unblinded between-group efficacy analysis, a pooled, blinded review of recruitment progress, data completeness, and outcome-data structure was conducted without treatment-group efficacy estimates. Following this blinded review, and before database lock or release of treatment codes, the protocol was amended to introduce one formal interim efficacy analysis and to add mean weekly exercise duration as a co-primary endpoint alongside 1-month exercise adherence. The amendment was approved by the Ethics Committee and the amended statistical analysis plan was finalized before the first formal unblinded between-group analysis. The formal interim analysis subsequently used a Lan-DeMets O'Brien-Fleming alpha-spending approach.

02

Conditions studied

  • Lung Neoplasms, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • Postoperative Complications
  • Patient Reported Outcome Measures
  • Telerehabilitation
  • Exercise Therapy

Keywords

  • Exercise Adherence
  • ePRO
  • Remote Monitoring
  • Postoperative Rehabilitation
  • Symptom Management
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18-75 years old
  • preoperative clinical diagnosis or suspicion of resectable primary lung cancer
  • Able to use smartphones and complete electronic questionnaires
  • Signed informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • conversions to open thoracotomy during surgery
  • ECOG score > 1
  • Received neoadjuvant therapy
  • Previous lung resection surgery
  • Unable to exercise due to physical limitations
  • Continuous systemic corticosteroid use within 1 month before enrollment
  • Unresolved toxicity above Grade 1 from previous treatments
  • Significant comorbidities or medical history
04

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
736 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Intervention Group

    Participants randomized to the intervention group will complete ePRO symptom severity scores on the PSA-Lung questionnaire via the smartphone app on discharge and post-discharge days 3, 7, 14, 21, 28. Alerts are triggered if any of 5 core symptoms scored ≥4, prompting remote clinician feedback and guidance on symptom management.

    Device: ePRO based Remote Symptom Management provide by a mobile phone app

  • No intervention
    Control Group

    Participants randomized to the control group will complete ePRO symptom severity scores on the PSA-Lung questionnaire via the smartphone app on discharge and post-discharge days 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, without clinician alerts.

Interventions

  • DeviceePRO based Remote Symptom Management provide by a mobile phone app

    Alerts are triggered if any of 5 core symptoms scored ≥4, prompting remote clinician feedback and guidance on symptom management. This is facilitated through the "Shuyu" mobile application, which serves as the platform for monitoring symptoms and communication.

    Also known as: mobile phone app for Remote Symptom Management

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Rehabilitation exercise adherence rate over 1 month after discharge

    Rehabilitation exercise adherence rate over 1 month after discharge, defined as the proportion of patients completing the prescribed outpatient exercise regimen.

    Time frame: From the day of discharge to 30 days after discharge

  2. Mean weekly exercise duration over 1 month after discharge

    Mean weekly exercise duration measured over the first 30 days post-discharge. This endpoint was added through a protocol amendment before the formal unblinded interim efficacy analysis. Interim testing used a Lan-DeMets O'Brien-Fleming alpha-spending approach.

    Time frame: From discharge to 30 days after discharge.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Post-discharge pulmonary complication rate

    Time frame: From the day of discharge to 30 days after discharge

  2. 30-day hospital readmission rate

    Time frame: From the day of discharge to 30 days after discharge

  3. Changes in symptom severity scores from discharge to 30 days

    Time frame: From the day of discharge to 30 days after discharge

  4. Patient satisfaction scores

    Time frame: From the day of discharge to 30 days after discharge

06

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • No.2 Sunwen East Rd.
    Zhongshan, Guangdong 528403, China
    Recruiting
07

References and documents

Publications

  • Yang X, Zhang Q, Ye C, Cheng Y, Wu J, Liang Y, Su J. Factors Influencing Symptom Severity at Discharge after Lobectomy and Sublobar Resection Through Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery. Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2025 Aug 5;40(8):ivaf170. doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivaf170. PubMed 40811025 ↗
  • Su J, Ye C, Zhang Q, Liang Y, Wu J, Liang G, Cheng Y, Yang X. Impact of Remote Symptom Management on Exercise Adherence After Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery for Lung Cancer in a Tertiary Hospital in China: Protocol for a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Jan 1;14:e60420. doi: 10.2196/60420. PubMed 39610048 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — Not available. The individual participant data collected in this study will not be shared with external researchers.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05990946
Lead sponsor
Zhongshan People's Hospital, Guangdong, China
Responsible party
Xiaojuan Yang (Nurse Practitioner, Zhongshan People's Hospital, Guangdong, China) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 14, 2023
Start date
Dec 1, 2023
Primary completion
Mar 30, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 30, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 4, 2026

Study contacts

Xiaojuan Yang
Contact
1002381745@qq.com
+86 0760-88823566

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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