Telemedicine Versus Traditional Specialist Consultation for Headache: a Non-inferiority Trial
NCT ID: NCT02270177
Last Updated: 2016-06-14
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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COMPLETED
NA
402 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2012-09-30
2016-06-30
Brief Summary
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To our knowledge, no previous study has investigated whether headache consultation through telemedicine provides equal health care outcomes compared to regular visit to the neurologist. If that's the case, a modern interactive health care system may give simpler and cheaper services for patients, saving travelling costs and community expenses. It may possibly also lead to reduced waiting lists, earlier diagnosis and treatment.
This is an open-labeled randomized non-inferiority trial of headache patients referred to a neurologic clinic in North-Norway. The aim of this study is to determine whether video consultations are non-inferior to regular consultations in diagnosing and treating primary headaches. The null hypothesis is that there is no difference in patient satisfaction between the two groups. The outcome is assessed 3 and 12 months after the neurologic consultation.
Participants will be allocated to either a telemedicine consultation or a regular consultation at the neurologic outpatient clinic in the University Hospital of North-Norway, Tromsø. Both groups will undergo a structured and detailed interview to clarify the diagnosis and establish appropriate treatment. To ensure the best possible representation in the population, our goal is to include at least 70% of all the referred patients that meet the criteria for participation. The randomizations are made through a centralized 8-16 phone line to the research-department in Tromsø, at the University Hospital of North-Norway.
Both primary and secondary endpoints will be assessed in questionnaires sent three and 12 months after the consultation. In addition, the quality of the physicians' referrals and calculations of cost savings by using telemedicine will be evaluated.
The patients' informed consent will always be obtained before data collection. Patients are able to withdraw from the study at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the treatment or follow up. Local research ethics committee (REC) has approved the study.
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Detailed Description
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To our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated whether headache consultations through telemedicine provides equal health care outcomes compared to regular visits to the neurologist. If that's the case, a modern interactive health care system may give simpler and cheaper services for patients, saving traveling costs and community expenses. It may possibly also lead to reduced waiting lists, earlier diagnosis and treatment.
This is an open-label randomized non-inferiority study of headache patients referred to our neurologic outpatient clinic. The aim of this study is to determine if video consultations are non-inferior to regular consultations in diagnosing and treating primary headaches. The null hypothesis is that there is no difference in patient satisfaction between the two groups. The outcome is assessed 3 and 12 months after the neurologic consultation. We will allocate participants to either a telemedicine consultation or a regular consultation at the neurologic outpatient clinic in the University Hospital of North-Norway, Tromsø. Both groups will undergo a structured and detailed interview to clarify the diagnosis and establish appropriate treatment. All diagnoses are given by the most up to date version of The International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD). We will strive continuously to include all patients who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria. To ensure the best possible representation in the population, our goal is to include at least 70% of all the referred patients that meet the criteria for participation in this study. The randomizations are made through a centralized 8-16 phone line to the research-department in Tromsø, at the University Hospital of North-Norway.
We will gather the primary and secondary endpoints from the recruited participants by questionnaires sent three and 12 months after the consultation. In addition, we are going to investigate the quality of the physicians' referrals, peoples' use of medications, alternative therapies as well as calculations of cost savings by using telemedicine.
The patients' informed consent will always be obtained before data collection. Patients are able to withdraw from the study at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the treatment or follow up. Local research ethics committee (REC) has approved the study.
Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
NONE
Study Groups
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Regular consultation
Regular headache consultations
No interventions assigned to this group
Videoconsultation
Headache consultations through telemedicine technology
Telemedicine, videoconsultation
We are investigating the use of videoconsultations (through telemedicine technology) in patients with primary headaches.
Interventions
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Telemedicine, videoconsultation
We are investigating the use of videoconsultations (through telemedicine technology) in patients with primary headaches.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Referred to a neurologist for headache
* No red flags (defined) suggestive of a secondary cause? No known underlying causes of headaches (secondary headaches) according to established criteria
* Referred for diagnostic clarification and / or treatment
* Waiting time ≤ 4 months from the date of the referral
* speaking Norwegian language
Exclusion Criteria
* Known underlying cause of the headache or the presence of red flags suggestive of secondary headaches.
* Examined by a neurologist for headaches in a period of 2 years before referral
* Waited longer than 4 months from the date of referral
* Non-Norwegian speaker
16 Years
65 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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University of Tromso
OTHER
University Hospital of North Norway
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Svein I Bekkelund, MD, PHD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
Neurologic department, University Hospital of North-Norway, Tromsø and University of Tromsø, Norway
Locations
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Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway
Tromsø, Troms, Norway
Countries
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References
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Stovner LJ, Andree C. Prevalence of headache in Europe: a review for the Eurolight project. J Headache Pain. 2010 Aug;11(4):289-99. doi: 10.1007/s10194-010-0217-0. Epub 2010 May 16.
Stovner LJ, Zwart JA, Hagen K, Terwindt GM, Pascual J. Epidemiology of headache in Europe. Eur J Neurol. 2006 Apr;13(4):333-45. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01184.x.
Stovner LJ, Andree C; Eurolight Steering Committee. Impact of headache in Europe: a review for the Eurolight project. J Headache Pain. 2008 Jun;9(3):139-46. doi: 10.1007/s10194-008-0038-6. Epub 2008 Apr 17.
Bekkelund SI, Albretsen C. Evaluation of referrals from general practice to a neurological department. Fam Pract. 2002 Jun;19(3):297-9. doi: 10.1093/fampra/19.3.297.
Bekkelund SI, Salvesen R. Patient satisfaction with a neurological specialist consultation for headache. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2002 Sep;20(3):157-60. doi: 10.1080/028134302760234609.
Bekkelund SI, Salvesen R. Is uncertain diagnosis a more frequent reason for referring migraine patients to neurologist than other headache syndromes? Eur J Neurol. 2006 Dec;13(12):1370-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01523.x.
Salvesen R, Bekkelund SI. Aspects of referral care for headache associated with improvement. Headache. 2003 Jul-Aug;43(7):779-83. doi: 10.1046/j.1526-4610.2003.03136.x.
Bekkelund SI, Salvesen R; North Norway Headache Study (NNHS). Are headache patients who initiate their referral to a neurologist satisfied with the consultation? A population study of 927 patients--the North Norway Headache Study (NNHS). Fam Pract. 2001 Oct;18(5):524-7. doi: 10.1093/fampra/18.5.524.
Cottrell C, Drew J, Gibson J, Holroyd K, O'Donnell F. Feasibility assessment of telephone-administered behavioral treatment for adolescent migraine. Headache. 2007 Oct;47(9):1293-302. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2007.00804.x.
Pryse-Phillips W. Evaluating migraine disability: the headache impact test instrument in context. Can J Neurol Sci. 2002 Jun;29 Suppl 2:S11-5. doi: 10.1017/s0317167100001888.
Headache Classification Subcommittee of the International Headache Society. The International Classification of Headache Disorders: 2nd edition. Cephalalgia. 2004;24 Suppl 1:9-160. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2982.2003.00824.x. No abstract available.
Bekkelund SI, Muller KI. One-Year Remission Rate of Chronic Headache Comparing Video and Face-to-Face Consultations by Neurologist: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2021 Dec 13;23(12):e30151. doi: 10.2196/30151.
Muller KI, Alstadhaug KB, Bekkelund SI. A randomized trial of telemedicine efficacy and safety for nonacute headaches. Neurology. 2017 Jul 11;89(2):153-162. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004085. Epub 2017 Jun 14.
Muller KI, Alstadhaug KB, Bekkelund SI. Telemedicine in the management of non-acute headaches: A prospective, open-labelled non-inferiority, randomised clinical trial. Cephalalgia. 2017 Aug;37(9):855-863. doi: 10.1177/0333102416654885. Epub 2016 Jun 14.
Muller KI, Alstadhaug KB, Bekkelund SI. Acceptability, Feasibility, and Cost of Telemedicine for Nonacute Headaches: A Randomized Study Comparing Video and Traditional Consultations. J Med Internet Res. 2016 May 30;18(5):e140. doi: 10.2196/jmir.5221.
Other Identifiers
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FAS nr: 692
Identifier Type: REGISTRY
Identifier Source: secondary_id
HST959-10
Identifier Type: REGISTRY
Identifier Source: secondary_id
2009/1430 REK sør-øst
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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