eHealth in Pediatric Surgery: Impact on Postsurgical Care After Reconstructive Surgery for Anorectal Malformations and Hirschsprung's Disease

Background: To support care after discharge following surgery for anorectal malformations (ARM) and Hirschsprung's disease (HD), an eHealth device was invented, offering families bilateral communication through chat, photo, questionaries and video. Aim: To explore the impact of eHealth on postoperative patterns of expert consultation, complications and treatment after discharge following surgery for ARM and HD, respectively, compared to conventional care. Method: Interventional prospective case control study observing postoperative care 30 days after discharge after ARM and HD-reconstructions July 2018-July 2023, comparing outcomes between families using the eHealth device versus conventional care. Results: Consecutively included were 95/141 families (eHealth: ARM n = 48, HD n = 25; respective conventional care: ARM n = 16, HD n = 6). Days to first contact after discharge were fewer for eHealth users, both for ARM 2 vs. 5.5 (p = 0.000) and HD 1 vs 7 (p = 0.000). Days with consultations were more numerous using eHealth: ARM 9 vs 4 (p = 0.000) and HD 12 vs 3.5 (p = 0.001) specifically nurse counseling; ARM 6 versus 1 (p = 0.000) and HD 11 vs 2.5 (p = 0.001). In ARM patients the complication frequency was 23 % (eHealth) versus 50 % (conventional), and the complication severity was lower: Clavien-Madadi 0 (0-4) versus 1 (0-3) (p = 0.040). Treatment adjustments were more frequent for HD patients using eHealth (3 vs. 2 (p = 0.041)). Conclusion: Use of eHealth after ARM respective HD reconstructions implies earlier and more frequent postoperative counseling, especially with nurses. When using eHealth complications were less severe in ARM-patients and treatment adjustments more frequent in the HD patients, compared to those under conventional care. (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).