Effects of telemedicine and mhealth on systolic blood pressure management in stroke patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Background: Stroke is a common, harmful disease with high recurrence and mortality rates. Uncontrolled blood pressure is an important and changeable risk factor for stroke recurrence. Telemedicine and mobile health (mHealth) interventions may have the potential to facilitate the control of blood pressure among stroke survivors, but their effect has not been established. Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to estimate the effects of telemedicine and mHealth interventions on the control of systolic blood pressure among stroke survivors. Methods: The research literature published up to June 28, 2020, and consisting of RCTs related to telemedicine and mHealth interventions was searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. The Cochrane risk of bias tool (RoB 2.0) was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. The Cochran Q test and I2 statistic were used to assess heterogeneity. Data were meta-analyzed using a random-effects model. Mean difference (MD) with 95% CI and 95% prediction interval (PI) were calculated. Results: In total, 9 RCTs with a total sample size of 1583 stroke survivors met the inclusion criteria. Compared with the usual care, telemedicine and mHealth had a significantly greater impact on the control of systolic blood pressure (MD -5.49; 95% CI -7.87 to -3.10; P