ABSTRACT
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearable sensors are important for early detection of critical illness especially in COVID-19 outpatients. We sought to determine in this pilot study whether a wearable in-ear sensor for continuous body temperature and heart rate monitoring (Cosinuss company, Munich) is sufficiently accurate for body temperature and heart rate monitoring. Comparing with several anesthesiologic standard of care monitoring devices (urinary bladder and zero-heat flux thermometer and ECG), we evaluated the in-ear sensor during non-cardiac surgery (German Clinical Trials Register Reg.-No: DRKS00012848). Limits of Agreement (LoA) based on Bland-Altman analysis were used to study the agreement between the in-ear sensor and the reference methods. The estimated LoA of the Cosinuss One and bladder temperature monitoring were [-0.79, 0.49] °C (95% confidence intervals [-1.03, -0.65] (lower LoA) and [0.35, 0.73] (upper LoA)), and [-0.78, 0.34] °C (95% confidence intervals [-1.18, -0.59] (lower LoA) and [0.16, 0.74] (upper LoA)) of the Cosinuss One and zero-heat flux temperature monitoring. 89% and 79% of Cosinuss One temperature monitoring were within ± 0.5 °C limit of bladder and zero-heat flux monitoring, respectively. The estimated LoA of Cosinuss One and ECG heart rate monitoring were [-4.81, 4.27] BPM (95% confidence intervals [-5.09, -4.56] (lower LoA) and [4.01, 4.54] (upper LoA)). The proportion of detection differences within ± 2BPM was 84%. Body temperature and heart rate were reliably measured by the wearable in-ear sensor.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Wearable Electronic Devices , Humans , Temperature , Pilot Projects , Heart Rate/physiology , Pandemics , COVID-19/diagnosis , Body Temperature/physiologyABSTRACT
Introduction: The aim of the audit was to assess the frequency of Emergency Department (ED) attendances before and after Intensive care and correlate this with functional decline and worsening comorbidities. Though the Covid 19 pandemic has highlighted this more starkly1 the implications of prolonged ICU care and increased long term care needs is well established.2 Objectives: A well-structured, comprehensive, multidisciplinary rehabilitation program during and after discharge from the hospital could improve outcomes and prevent further hospital/ED visits. Method: Data was collected using the ITU admission data base for all > 72 hour ITU patient stays over a two year period of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 in a district general hospital in the UK. Each individual patient's number of same hospital ED attendances for twelve months before and after their ITU admission were reviewed and the causes for them assessed, in addition survival data over a two year period was also reviewed. Results: During 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 a total of 414 and 425 patients were admitted respectively to ITU for more than 72 hours (median= 133.5 hours). Of the total 839 ITU admissions 700 (83.4%) survived ICU stay. 165 (23.6%) of the 700 patients died in subsequent 2 years of ITU discharge. The two year survival rate was 65%. The most common ITU admissions reason was postoperative monitoring (20%) followed by Type 1 respiratory failure (18%) and Type 2 respiratory failure (15%). The median ED attendance was 0 (Range 0 to 29, mean 0.985, S.D 3.985) in the 17-18 and 0 (Range 0 to 24, mean 1.153, SD 2.154) in the 18-19 cohort in the 12 months prior to ITU admission while the median ED attendance was 0 (Range 0 to 15, mean 0.980, S.D 4.4) in the 17-18 and 0 (Range 0 to 15, mean 1.19, SD 2.0) in the 18-19 cohort in the 12 months following the ITU admission. 98% for 17-18 and 72% for 18-19 of ED reattendances following prolonged ITU stay were due to reasons similar to ITU care. Of the 445 patients with no prior ED attendance in 1 year, 168 or 38% (range 1 to 14) had at least one ED attendance in the 12 months following ITU discharge. The remaining 394 patients with at least one ED attendance prior to ICU, 185 or 47% (1 to 15 Range) had ED attendance 12 months following their ITU discharge. Conclusion: The results show that ITU admitted patients consume significant health resources before and after their ITU stay. Patients with no prior ED attendances before ITU admission also reattended in substantial numbers. Most of these attendances were related to their initial reason for ITU admission. A comprehensive rehabilitation program both in hospital and following discharge could improve patients' outcomes, reduce stress on emergency services and improve patient experience. A rehab service was implemented. The need for rehab program for Covid 19 patients during the pandemic has grown immense because of evolving evidence of Long Covid.3.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: With the strain placed on the medical system by the ongoing surges of the Covid-19 pandemic, inpatient surgery is often suspended, and same day discharge rates are increasing. Sacrospinous ligament fixation (SSLF) is an apical suspension procedure performed retroperitoneally;retroperitoneal hemorrhage and nerve injury are potential severe complications. Given these risks, providers vary in their preference for same day discharge vs. routine overnight admission after this procedure. Objective: To establish the safety of outpatient SSLF and evaluate the frequency of complications identified during the hospital stay. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of women who underwent SSLF by Urogynecologists at our large, academic institution between March 2018 and October 2021. Patients were identified from the Gynecologic Enhanced Recovery Surgical database, which includes all surgical patients in the department of OBGYN. The data was collected from the electronic medical record (EMR) to track compliance and outcomes in real time for quality improvement purposes during implementation of our enhanced recovery protocol. Institutional IRB approval was obtained. Descriptive statistics were performed. Student's t-test and two-sample tests-of-proportions were used, with a p-value <0.05 denoting statistical significance. Results: A total of 165 patients underwent SSLF;23 were outpatient, and 142 were admitted for at least one night. Over 90% of patients in both groups identified as white, non-Hispanic, and English-speaking. The mean BMI for both groups was 28.8 kg/m2. The outpatient group was younger (57.9 years compared to 64.7 years;P = 0.0051);outpatients were more likely to have commercial insurance (P = 0.0143) and inpatients to have Medicare (P = 0.0282). Almost double the proportion of those in the inpatient group had anxiety and depression, but this did not achieve statistical significance. Outpatients were more likely to be never smokers (P = 0.0175) and use narcotics preoperatively (P = 0.0385). They had a lower mean ASA score (P = 0.0067), Charleston Comorbidity Index score (P = 0.0452), total length of surgery (P < 0.001), total length of anesthesia (P < 0.001), and estimated blood loss (P = 0.0142). Those who went home the same day were more likely to have been the first case (P = 0.0123), and same-day discharge rates increased significantly after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic (P = 0.0039). Both complications that required operative intervention were identified in the post-anesthesia care unit on the day of surgery. Notably, 30-day post-operative complications were proportionally lower in the outpatient group, but this did not achieve significance. Most of the complications were urinary tract infections, including the sole complication identified in the outpatient group. Conclusions: With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and rapidly evolving practice patterns, it is important to establish the safety of outpatient surgery. Our study demonstrates that outpatient SSLF is safe for appropriately selected patients after routine post-operative monitoring including serial vital signs and assessment of neuropathic pain. Severe complications requiring reoperation can often be identified immediately after surgery. Thirty-day post-operative complication rates did not significantly differ between patients undergoing outpatient versus inpatient SSLF.