Dataset Information

Continuous Monitoring of Vital Signs Using Wearable Devices on the General Ward: Pilot Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Measurement of vital signs in hospitalized patients is necessary to assess the clinical situation of the patient. Early warning scores (EWS), such as the modified early warning score (MEWS), are generally calculated 3 times a day, but these may not capture early deterioration. A delay in diagnosing deterioration is associated with increased mortality. Continuous monitoring with wearable devices might detect clinical deterioration at an earlier stage, which allows clinicians to take corrective actions.

Objective

In this pilot study, the feasibility of continuous monitoring using the ViSi Mobile (VM; Sotera Wireless) and HealthPatch (HP; Vital Connect) was tested, and the experiences of patients and nurses were collected.

Methods

In this feasibility study, 20 patients at the internal medicine and surgical ward were monitored with VM and HP simultaneously for 2 to 3 days. Technical problems were analyzed. Vital sign measurements by nurses were taken as reference and compared with vital signs measured by both devices. Patient and nurse experiences were obtained by semistructured interviews.

Results

In total, 86 out of 120 MEWS measurements were used for the analysis. Vital sign measurements by VM and HP were generally consistent with nurse measurements. In 15% (N=13) and 27% (N=23) of the VM and HP cases respectively, clinically relevant differences in MEWS were found based on inconsistent respiratory rate registrations. Connection failure was recognized as a predominant VM artifact (70%). Over 50% of all HP artifacts had an unknown cause, were self-limiting, and never took longer than 1 hour. The majority of patients, relatives, and nurses were positive about VM and HP.

Conclusions

Both VM and HP are promising for continuously monitoring vital signs in hospitalized patients, if the frequency and duration of artifacts are reduced. The devices were well received and comfortable for most patients.

SUBMITTER: Weenk M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5517820 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Rationale: Monitoring patients’ vital signs is done to detect clinical deterioration. For this, the MEWS, a scoring list comprising seven vital signs measured by nursing staff, is used. Although the MEWS provides relevant data on patients’ health status, the interval measurements may not capture early deterioration of vital signs, especially during the night. As a result, unsafe situations may occur such as periods of low oxygen saturation and cardiac arrhythmias, which are known to complicate postoperative course. Besides, this way of measuring vital signs may be stressful for patients and disturbs patients’ sleep. New technology such as ViSi Mobile and HealthPatch allows for remote continuous monitoring of vital signs using wearable devices transmitting relevant data to nurses and clinicians. With this, the investigators think that clinical deterioration may be detected in an early phase and reduce nurse work load and patient distress. Objective: to investigate the feasibility of wearable devices on the general ward. Study design: feasibility study. Study population: adult patients hospitalized on the internal medicine ward and adult postoperative patients on the surgical ward. Intervention: patients in the intervention groups will be randomized in one of the two groups. Patients in the group 1 will wear ViSi Mobile; patients in group 2 will wear the HealthPatch. Wearable devices will be worn for at least three days. Regular MEWS measurements take place at usual time points. Main study parameters/endpoints: Evaluation with patient and care givers (primary outcome measure), MEWS calculations, time between alarm (continuous data) and next regular MEWS measurement (nurse), intervention by nurse after alarm, admission to ICU, complications, side effects of devices, STAI scores, and PCS scores will be documented. Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation, benefit and group relatedness: Patients will wear one device for at least three days. Devices can be uncomfortable by being heavy or the patches can start itching. More measurements by nurses can take place when indicated, for example after alarms. The participating patients will fill out the STAI on daily basis and the PCS on the last day of hospitalization. Both questionnaires will take a few minutes to complete. Patients could benefit from early detection of clinical deterioration and early corrective interventions or ICU admissions.