A review of effectiveness of digital technology and tele-communication to support patients living with adrenal incidentaloma

Aim: The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the effectiveness of using digital technology and digital communication methods to support the experience and quality of life of patients who are newly diagnosed with adrenal incidentaloma.

Background: Adrenal incidentaloma are lesions incidentally discovered on the adrenals glands whilst patients have undergone a CT or MRI scan. There is very limited information about the patient’s experience and their quality of life after being diagnosed by adrenal incidentaloma and how a combination of digital technology and professional skills can help and support those patients.

Methods: The terms “adrenal incidentaloma”, “digital technology”, “app”, “online”, “mobile”, “software”, “internet”, “quality of life”, “QOL”, “patients’ experience” were applied to healthcare databases Medlines, EMBASE and CINAHL from 2009 to 2019 and all the relevant papers were read and subjected to assessment.

Results: At this time of writing, there is no data on using digital technology to support patients with adrenal incidentaloma. Therefore, other literature was reviewed including other long-term conditions such as cancer and diabetes mellitus. Out of 1504 relevant reports found, 35 articles met the inclusion criteria mainly in the fields of cancer and diabetes. Three key themes were identified: reducing the stress and anxiety of being diagnosed with a new condition; improving quality of life and satisfaction; and finally, self-management of the condition and empowerment. It also highlighted areas that need further study such as the effectiveness of designing a supportive and informative computer program for adrenal incidentaloma patients, and whether supplying an electronic platform with direct human input such as live chat would be more supportive than just receiving information from the clinician. Finally, it is important to identify whether these initiatives will be cost effective.

Conclusion: whilst there is limited data on adrenal incidentaloma, the review showed that online and web-based programs were used successfully in other fields such as diabetes and cancer. It provides clear evidence for the development of similar approaches in the care of adrenal incidentaloma patients.
Key words: Adrenal incidentaloma, digital technology, app, online, mobile, software, internet, quality of life, QOL, patient experience, newly diagnosed with any condition.