Randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effects of tele-monitoring weight in oncology and COPD patients.

Many oncology and COPD patients are at risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition results in an increased risk of infections and post-operative complications, an impaired response on chemotherapy an increased length of hospital stay, shortage of lean body mass and weakness of the respiratory muscles, is associated with a higher level of complaints and more unplanned readmissions to the hospital.

It is important that patients comply with the prescribed nutrition regimen to ensure that nutritional requirements are met. Especially in patients in the community, it is very important to monitor them regularly, to prevent severe weight loss due to a low compliance. Because of lack of time and/or finance, a lot of patients at home do not visit the dietician on a regular basis. This can lead to a decrease in compliance and an increase of weight loss.

This study has been designed, to investigate if tele-monitoring weight results in a decrease of weight loss, a better compliance of sip feed intake and a lower incidence of infections and/or complications in oncology and COPD patients.

The objective of this study is to investigate if monitoring weight by tele-monitoring and its procedure in oncology and COPD patients results in less weight loss (or in weight gain), compared to the control group.

To evaluate if monitoring weight by tele-monitoring and its procedure in oncology and COPD patients, results in a higher compliance of sip feed intake and a lower incidence of infections and/or complications, compared to the control group.

Weight:

Intervention: Recorded twice a week throughout whole study period.

Control: Recorded at baseline and every 3 weeks.



Infections, complications, unplanned hospitalisations:

Recorded every 3 weeks in both study groups.



Sip feed intake:

Recorded every 3 weeks in both study groups.

During the study, subjects in the intervention group will be monitored by tele-monitoring and measure their weight twice a week. If a patient has lost weight, the dietician will contact the patient.

The control group will receive care as usual.