SynthesisColorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland2026
Telemedicine interventions after colorectal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
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Abstract
aimThere has been increasing interest in telemedicine follow-up after surgery. This study aims to synthesize the literature regarding the effect of postoperative telemedicine after colorectal surgery on 30-day readmission and emergency department visit rates compared with usual care.
methodRelevant databases were searched until September 12, 2025. Two authors independently identified trials, extracted data, assessed risk of bias (ROB 2.0 and ROBINS-I), and evidence certainty (GRADE). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled observational studies were included. Meta-analyses were conducted using random-effects models. Primary outcomes were 30-day readmissions and 30-day emergency department visits. Secondary outcomes included patient satisfaction and compliance with the telemedicine intervention.
resultsThirteen studies (five RCTs, eight cohort studies) were included. Compared to usual care, telemedicine resulted in no difference in 30-day readmissions (odds ratio [OR]; 0.96; 95% CI: 0.69, 1.35, 11 studies, 7102 patients, low certainty) and 30-day emergency department visits (OR; 1.02; 95% CI: 0.67, 1.57, 8 studies, 6694 patients, low certainty). Evidence certainty was limited by serious imprecision and moderate to high risk of bias. Patient compliance with interventions ranged from 48.6% to 95.3% across studies. Patient satisfaction was higher for telemedicine compared to usual care (standardized mean difference; 0.88; 95% CI: 0.31, 1.45, 3 studies, 217 patients).
conclusionTelemedicine interventions may lead to little difference in readmissions or emergency department visits after colorectal surgery. Telemedicine may improve patient satisfaction versus usual care. Evidence was of low certainty, indicating a need for larger randomized trials and high-quality observational studies with appropriate design and analysis to minimize confounding.
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