EDITORIAL November 17, 2022 November 17, 2022

Can telemedicine improve adherence to medical treatment? Lessons learned from research on acromegaly conducted during COVID-19 pandemic

DOI: 10.20945/2359-3997000000576

At the time I write this Editorial, most of the world is transitioning out of the acute COVID-19 phase thanks to unprecedented health-related innovations that allowed development of several COVID-19 tests, clinical trials and vaccines in just few months after the outbreak of the disease. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic was undoubtedly one of the greatest health challenges ever faced by the international community and presented many indirect impacts on the public health systems, particularly for vulnerable populations ().

One of the main impacts observed in the Brazilian public health system was the promotion of regular use of telemedicine, a tool that has transformed the provision of medical services during COVID-19 pandemic (). In this issue of the Archives of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Jesus Nunes and cols. () reported their experience with telemedicine in the management of patients with acromegaly followed in an academic reference center in the Brazilian state of Ceara during the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2020. Theoretically, acromegaly could increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 because its frequent association with diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, macroglossia, and respiratory disfunction caused by the presence of multiple anatomical abnormalities (). On the other hand, biochemical control has been shown to reverse or improve morbimortality of the disease (). In a substantial number of patients, continuous medical therapy with somatostatin receptor ligands (SRL) is necessary to obtain adequate disease control, a costly treatment that requires the patient to have special prescription and documentation to pick up the medication at a specialized pharmacy, and a specialized nurse or care provider for administration of the monthly injections. Taken together, these factors explain the concerns about the adherence of acromegaly patients to their visits and medical treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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