The pilot, proof of concept REMOTE-COVID trial: remote monitoring use in suspected cases of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV 2)
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: SARS-CoV-2has ever-increasing attributed deaths. Vital sign trends are routinely used to monitor patients with changes in these parameters preceding an adverse event. Wearable sensors can measure vital signs continuously and remotely, outside of hospital facilities, recognising early clinical deterioration. We aim to determine the feasibility& acceptability of remote monitoring systems for quarantined individuals in a hotel suspected of COVID-19.Methods: A pilot, proof-of-concept, feasibility trial was conducted in engineered hotels near London airports(May-June 2020). Individuals arriving to London with mild suspected COVID-19 symptoms requiring quarantine, as recommended by Public Health England, or healthcare professionals with COVID-19 symptoms unable to isolate at home were eligible. The Sensium Vitals™ patch, measuring temperature, heart & respiratory rates, was applied on arrival for the duration of their stay. Alerts were generated when pre-established thresholds were breeched; trained nursing staff could consequently intervene. Results: Fourteen individuals (M=7, F=7) were recruited; the mean age was 34.9 (SD 11) years. Mean length of stay was 3 (SD 1.8) days. In total, 10 vital alerts were generated across 4 participants, resulting in telephone contact, reassurance, or adjustment of the sensor. No individuals required hospitalisation or virtual general practitioner review. Discussion: This proof-of-concept trial demonstrated the feasibility of a rapidly implemented model of healthcare delivery through remote monitoring during a pandemic at a hotel, acting as an extension to a healthcare trust. Benefits included reduced viral exposure to healthcare staff, with recognition of clinical deterioration through ambulatory, continuous, remote monitoring using a discrete wearable sensor. Conclusion: Remote monitoring systems can be applied to hotels to deliver healthcare safely in individuals suspected of COVID-19. Further work is required to evaluate this model on a larger scale. Clinical trials registration information: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04337489(07/04/2020)
Date Issued
2021-04-01
Date Acceptance
2021-03-18
Citation
BMC Public Health, 2021, 21 (1), pp.1-8
ISSN
1471-2458
Publisher
BioMed Central
Start Page
1
End Page
8
Journal / Book Title
BMC Public Health
Volume
21
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
License URL
Identifier
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10660-9
Subjects
Clinical trial
Monitoring, ambulatory
Patient deterioration
Remote sensing technology
Public Health
1117 Public Health and Health Services
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
638
Date Publish Online
2021-04-01