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. 2020 Nov;31(11):2803-2811.
doi: 10.1111/jce.14727. Epub 2020 Sep 4.

Inpatient cardiac monitoring using a patch-based mobile cardiac telemetry system during the COVID-19 pandemic

Eric D Braunstein  1 , Olga Reynbakh  1 , Andrew Krumerman  1 , Luigi Di Biase  1 , Kevin J Ferrick  1
Affiliations

Inpatient cardiac monitoring using a patch-based mobile cardiac telemetry system during the COVID-19 pandemic

Eric D Braunstein et al. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a worldwide pandemic, and cardiovascular complications and arrhythmias in these patients are common. Cardiac monitoring is recommended for at risk patients; however, the availability of telemetry capable hospital beds is limited. We sought to evaluate a patch-based mobile telemetry system for inpatient cardiac monitoring during the pandemic.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed of inpatients hospitalized during the pandemic who had mobile telemetry devices placed; patients were studied up until the time of discharge or death. The primary outcome was a composite of management changes based on data obtained from the system and detection of new arrhythmias. Other clinical outcomes and performance characteristics of the mobile telemetry system were studied.

Results: Eighty-two patients underwent mobile telemetry device placement, of which 31 (37.8%) met the primary outcome, which consisted of 24 (29.3%) with new arrhythmias detected and 18 (22.2%) with management changes. Twenty-one patients (25.6%) died during the study, but none from primary arrhythmias. In analyses, age and heart failure were associated with the primary outcome. Monitoring occurred for an average of 5.3 ± 3.4 days, with 432 total patient-days of monitoring performed; of these, QT-interval measurements were feasible in 400 (92.6%).

Conclusion: A mobile telemetry system was successfully implemented for inpatient use during the COVID-19 pandemic and was shown to be useful to inform patient management, detect occult arrhythmias, and monitor the QT-interval. Patients with advanced age and structural heart disease may be more likely to benefit from this system.

Keywords: COVID-19; arrhythmia; cardiac monitoring; mobile telemetry; telemetry.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sample one‐lead telemetry recordings. (A), A scheduled daily transmission used for the measurement of the QT‐interval and (B) a triggered recording alerting the clinical team of rapidly conducted atrial fibrillation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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