The COVID-19 pandemic has led health systems to increase the use of tools for monitoring and triaging patients remotely. This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of pulse oximetry in Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) of COVID-19 patients at home. We conducted a systematic review,
searching five databases, Medline, Embase, Global Health, medRxiv, and bioRxiv, from inception to April 15, 2021. We included feasibility studies, clinical trials, observational studies, including preprints. We found 561 studies, of which 13 were included in our synthesis. The final studies were all observational cohorts and involved a total of 2,908 participants. A meta-analysis was not feasible due to the heterogeneity of the outcomes reported in the included studies.
Our review confirmed the safety and potential of using pulse oximetry in monitoring COVID-19 patients at home. It can potentially save hospital resources for those who may benefit most from care escalation. However, we could not identify explicit evidence on the impact on health outcomes compared with other monitoring models that have not used pulse oximetry. Based on our findings, we make 11 recommendations and three measures for setting up an RPM system using pulse oximetry.