The goal of this non-inferiority randomized controlled multi-center trial is to investigate the use of video consultations in the follow-up care of children aged 4 - 18 years old with functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs). Video consultations will be compared to face-to-face consultations. Clinical outcomes and patients' and parents' healthcare experience will be compared between both groups. Primary outcome is adequate relief after 12 weeks: the hypothesis is that video consultations are not inferior to face-to-face consultations regarding clinical outcomes and that adequate relief will be the same for both groups. Participants and/or parents will be asked to complete a diary for 1 week and a questionnaire after every consultation: at baseline, after 6 weeks and after 12 weeks.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
208
Participants will have their follow-up consultation with the physician via video. The consultation takes place via the participant's/parent's own device.
The follow-up consultation with the physician will take place at the hospital.
Amsterdam UMC, location AMC
Amsterdam, Netherlands
RECRUITINGAdequate relief
Proportion of participants reporting adequate relief. Adequate relief is a patient-reported outcome. Participants will be asked at 6 weeks and 12 weeks whether they have adequate relief of their Functional Abdominal Pain Disorder related complaints using a binary outcome (yes/no). Participants will complete a diary for a week and participants will be asked about adequate relief in the diary on day 7.
Time frame: After 12 weeks
Pain intensity
Number of children with a decrease of 30% of pain intensity after 12 weeks compared to baseline, measured on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of 0-10. A score of 0 means no pain and a score of 10 means a lot of pain. The VAS-score is a mean score of 7 consecutive days. Children will be asked to fill in a diary for 7 days at baseline, after 6 weeks and after 12 weeks.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Pain frequency
Number of children with a decrease of 30% pain frequency per day after 12 weeks compared to baseline. Pain frequency will be recorded as number of hours of pain per day, as a mean of 7 consecutive days. Children will be asked to fill a diary for 7 days at baseline, after 6 weeks and after 12 weeks.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Healthcare experience
Both parents/guardians and children (if \> 8 years old) will be asked to complete the Patient Reported Experience Measure for Specialist Medical Care questionnaire after every consultation. The questionnaire consists of 7 questions that participants can answer using a 10-point Likert scale, where a score of 1 means 'No, not at all' and a score of 10 means 'Yes, completely'. The questionnaire also contains one question with a binary answer (yes/no).
Time frame: 12 weeks
Shared decision making (parents/guardians)
Parents/guardians will be asked to complete the CollaboRATE questionnaire after every consultation. The questionnaire consists of three questions regarding shared decision making tasks during consultation. Responses to each question range from 0 ("no effort was made") to 9 ("every effort was made").
Time frame: 12 weeks
Shared decision making (children)
Children (if \> 8 years old) will be asked to fill in the CollaboRATE questionnaire after every consultation. The questionnaire consists of three questions regarding shared decision making tasks during consultation. Responses to each question range from 0 ("no effort was made") to 9 ("every effort was made").
Time frame: 12 weeks
Experience of patients and parents/guardians with video consultations
Both parents/guardians and children (if \> 8 years old) will be asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding their experience with the video consultation after every consultation.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Experience of healthcare professionals with video consultations
Upon completion of the inclusion phase of the trial (expected 1.5 years from its start), all participating physicians will complete a questionnaire about their experience with video consultations.
Time frame: End inclusion phase (expected 1.5 years)
Number of no shows
Proportion of no shows
Time frame: 12 weeks
Number of extra face to face consultations
Number of face to face consultations related to FAPD during the 12 week trial period, as extra to the two per protocol follow-up consultations. Participants will be asked a question in their questionnaire whether they went to the hospital (e.g. emergency department or extra consultation with their treating physician) for FAPD related complaints in the time between the two plannend consultations.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Number of hours absent from school due to consultation
Number of hours children were absent from school due to the consultation
Time frame: 12 weeks
Number of hours absent from work due to consultation
Number of work hours missed by parents/guardians due to the consultation
Time frame: 12 weeks
Duration of consultations
Duration of consultations for both face to face consultations and video consultations
Time frame: 12 weeks
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.