Search

BackgroundAdvancements in wearable sensors have caused a resurgence in their use, particularly because their miniaturization offers ambulatory advantages while performing continuous vital sign monitoring. Digital alerts can be generated following early recognition of clinical deterioration through breaches of set parameter thresholds, permitting earlier intervention. However, a systematic real-world evaluation of these alerting systems has yet to be conducted, and their efficacy remains unknown. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to implement wearable sensors and digital alerting systems in acute general wards to evaluate the resultant clinical outcomes. MethodsParticipants on acute general wards will be screened and recruited into a trial with a pre-post implementation design. In the preimplementation phase, the SensiumVitals monitoring system, which continuously measures temperature, heart, and respiratory rates, will be used for monitoring alongside usual care. In the postimplementation phase, alerts will be generated from the SensiumVitals system when pre-established thresholds for vital parameters have been crossed, requiring acknowledgement from health care staff; subsequent clinical outcomes will be analyzed. ResultsEnrolment is currently underway, having started in September 2017, and is anticipated to end shortly. Data analysis is expected to be completed in 2021. ConclusionsThis study will offer insight into the implementation of digital health technologies within a health care trust and aims to describe the effectiveness of wearable sensors for ambulatory continuous monitoring and digital alerts on clinical outcomes in acute general ward settings. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04638738; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04638738. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/26240

BackgroundThe diagnosis and management of sepsis remain a global health care challenge. Digital technologies have the potential to improve sepsis care. ObjectiveThe aim of this paper was to systematically review the evidence on the impact of digital alerting systems on sepsis related outcomes. MethodsThe following databases were searched for studies published from April 1964 to February 12, 2019, with no language restriction: EMBASE, MEDLINE, HMIC, PsycINFO, and Cochrane. All full-text reports of studies identified as potentially eligible after title and abstract reviews were obtained for further review. The search was limited to adult inpatients. Relevant articles were hand searched for other studies. Only studies with clear pre- and postalerting phases were included. Primary outcomes were hospital length of stay (LOS) and intensive care LOS, whereas secondary outcomes were time to antibiotics and mortality. Studies based solely on intensive care, case reports, narrative reviews, editorials, and commentaries were excluded. All other trial designs were included. A qualitative assessment and meta-analysis were performed. ResultsThis review identified 72 full-text articles. From these, 16 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. Of these, 8 studies reviewed hospital LOS, 12 reviewed mortality outcomes, 5 studies explored time to antibiotics, and 5 studies investigated intensive care unit (ICU) LOS. Both quantitative and qualitative assessments of the studies were performed. There was evidence of a significant benefit of digital alerting in hospital LOS, which reduced by 1.31 days (P=.014), and ICU LOS, which reduced by 0.766 days (P=.007). There was no significant association between digital alerts and mortality (mean decrease 11.4%; P=.77) or time to antibiotics (mean decrease 126 min; P=.13). ConclusionsThis review highlights that digital alerts can considerably reduce hospital and ICU stay for patients with sepsis. Further studies including randomized controlled trials are necessary to confirm these findings and identify the choice of alerting system according to the patient status and pathological cohort.