Early discharge of patients after joint arthroplasty leaves patients responsible for monitoring their postoperative wound by themselves. This might result in a delayed presentation of postoperative complications. The use of a mobile woundcare app by patients after arthroplasty might result in (1) earlier report of complications, (2) an increase in patient satisfaction and (3) insight in the incidence and duration of postoperative wound leakage. Therefore, the ease of use and perceived usefulness of using a postoperative mobile woundcare app in patients after joint arthroplasty was investigated. A cohort study was conducted in 2017 in 2 Dutch Hospitals. Eligible cases were all consecutive patients that received an arthroplasty and who owned a smartphone. During the first 30 postoperative days, patients filled in daily reviews of their wound and took a photo of the wound. Based on the review, an underlying algorithm calculated daily a score that prompted a mobile alert if needed, which advised patients to contact the hospital. Patients filled in a form on day 30 and day 90 in order to document occurrence of any postoperative wound complication. On day 15 and 30, patients were requested to fill in a questionnaire evaluating the perceived usefulness and the ease of use of the App.Aim
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