November 7, 2022
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Source/Disclosure
The issuer:
Grieberer ML. O-099. Presented at: ObesityWeek; November 1-4, 2022. San Diego.
Disclosure: Grieberer does not report related financial disclosures. See research for relevant financial disclosures of all other authors.
San Diego – According to the study presented here, obese adults who participated in virtual pharmacotherapy visits showed similar weight loss compared to those who participated in face-to-face visits.
Obese adults using telemedicine alone lost 6.5% weight from baseline to 12 weeks, compared to 7.7% weight loss for in-person visits, according to results from a randomized controlled trial . There was no significant difference in weight loss in both arms.
“With COVID-19, we have rapidly moved to virtual visits and telemedicine in a matter of days.” Marcio L. Grieberer, MDAn obesity expert at the Cleveland Clinic’s Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Dr. “In the first few weeks of the pandemic, we were almost 100% virtual, but now the majority of our care is virtual. I learned that I love it, that I can work from home and that my patients can stay at home. What we tried to prove was that virtual visits were just as good as face-to-face. That’s why.”
Marcio L. Grieberer
Griebeler et al. enrolled 70 obese or overweight adults aged 16 to 65 years with one or more comorbidities. All participants had a smartphone, were able to participate in the study by joining an online virtual visiting platform, and were willing to participate (90% female, mean age 42.2 years, mean BMI 41.2 kg/ m2). Participants were randomly assigned to participate in a 12-week virtual or face-to-face weight management program. This study was conducted at the Cleveland Clinic from December 2020 to August 2021. A participant in both groups was prescribed phentermine 37.5 mg at baseline, and for two weeks he was instructed to take half a tablet per day. All baseline visits were in person. Follow-up visits were performed at weeks 4, 8, and 12. The virtual group collected weight and vital signs at each visit using a remote scale and remote blood pressure cuff linked to the Cleveland Clinic electronic medical record database. Modifiable lifestyle factors and educational topics were discussed at each visit. The primary endpoint was the percent change in weight from baseline to his 12 weeks.
The research results are obesity.
Similar weight loss with virtual face-to-face care
There were 59 adults who completed the trial and whose final weight measurements were recorded, including 34 in the virtual visit group and 25 in the face-to-face group. At 4 weeks, her average weight loss in the virtual group was 4.3% compared to her 3.4% in the face-to-face group. At 8 weeks, she lost 6% of her weight in the virtual group compared to her 5.1% weight loss in face-to-face participants. At 12 weeks, mean weight loss in the virtual group was 6.6% compared to 7.7% in the face-to-face group. At all three time points, weight loss in the virtual group was not inferior compared to the face-to-face group.
At 12 weeks, 65% of virtual participants and 71% of face-to-face cohorts had at least 5% weight loss, with no significant differences between groups. There was also no difference in the proportion of participants who adhered to scheduled visits.
Phentermine that most people tolerate
Medication tolerance, adherence, and compliance were similar between groups. All doses of phentermine were tolerated by 85.7% of the virtual group and 90% of the face-to-face group. No serious adverse events occurred during the study.
“This will establish the use of telemedicine, especially for weight management,” said Griebeler. “We provided the same care as in-person. If you’re following along, if your vital signs were taken while you were filling your prescription, if you weighed yourself, you should be fine.
Grieberer said longer trials are needed to analyze whether telemedicine is not inferior to face-to-face care for long-term weight loss maintenance. He added that the impact of virtual coaching and physical activity interventions on weight loss should also be examined in comparison to .
reference:
Grieberer ML and others obesity. 2022; doi:10.1002/oby.23548.
For more information:
Marcio L. Grieberer, MD, Please contact griebem@ccf.org.