Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition characterized by periods of remission and relapses. Periodic surveys are used to monitor disease activity but are limited by their length and reliance on subjective recall. We assessed the feasibility of daily continuous health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and sleep quality data collection in IBD patients using mobile and wearable technologies. We conducted a two-week prospective, proof of concept study using both a wearable device (Fitbit Charge HR, San Francisco, CA) and a proprietary mobile device application (Litmus Health, Austin TX). Patients were prompted daily by the mobile app to rate their QoL, sleep and pain on a Visual Analog Sliding Scale (VASS) between “Very bad “and “Great” and Wong-Baker Faces Rating scale (Faces). At days 1 and 14, patients completed the Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Mean compliance with the wearable technology and daily VASSs/Faces were calculated for each patient. T-tests were performed to assess for significant differences (p<0.05) in patient compliance according to age, sex and disease activity. 19 patients (15 male, 17 Crohn’s disease) were enrolled. 12 patients were < 50 years of age, and 17 were in clinical remission. Patients were more compliant with VASSs/Faces than passive Fitbit monitoring. Daily VASSs and Faces mean completion rate was 85% and night time Fitbit compliance was 79%. Of the 6 patients who missed filling out the bi-weekly PSQI, 4 chose only to complete the daily sleep VASS. Of the 4 patients who missed filling out the bi-weekly SIBDQ, 2 chose only to complete the daily QoL VASS. No results differed based on sex, age or disease activity. In this short-term feasibility study, patients were more compliant with daily VASSs and wearing the Fitbit than with periodic long surveying tools, supporting our plans for future minimal and passive disease monitoring. A larger study is ongoing.
