scholarly journals Validation of telemedicine-based self-assessment of vital signs for patients with COVID-19: A pilot study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1357633X2110118
Author(s):  
Nobuyuki Kagiyama ◽  
Makoto Hiki ◽  
Yuya Matsue ◽  
Tomotaka Dohi ◽  
Wataru Matsuzawa ◽  
...  

Introduction In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the development of a system that would prevent the infection of healthcare providers is in urgent demand. We sought to investigate the feasibility and validity of a telemedicine-based system in which healthcare providers remotely check the vital signs measured by patients with COVID-19. Methods Patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 measured and uploaded their vital signs to secure cloud storage. Additionally, the respiratory rates were monitored using a mat-type sensor placed under the bed. We assessed the time until the values became available on the Cloud and the agreements between the patient-measured vital signs and simultaneous healthcare provider measurements. Results Between 26 May–23 September 2020, 3835 vital signs were measured and uploaded to the cloud storage by the patients ( n=16, median 72 years old, 31% women). All patients successfully learned how to use these devices with a 10-minute lecture. The median time until the measurements were available on the cloud system was only 0.35 min, and 95.2% of the vital signs were available within 5 min of the measurement. The agreement between the patients’ and healthcare providers’ measurements was excellent for all parameters. Interclass coefficient correlations were as follows: systolic (0.92, p<0.001), diastolic blood pressure (0.86, p<0.001), heart rate (0.89, p<0.001), peripheral oxygen saturation (0.92, p<0.001), body temperature (0.83, p<0.001), and respiratory rates (0.90, p<0.001). Conclusions Telemedicine-based self-assessment of vital signs in patients with COVID-19 was feasible and reliable. The system will be a useful alternative to traditional vital sign measurements by healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  

Vital signs are patient’s health status indicators and their measurement and interpretation at opportune moments contribute to the early diagnosis of clinical deterioration and implementation of interventions. The IQG surveyors observed the lack of registration of vital signs during their visits, noting the need to evaluate this practice in IQG’s Health Services Accreditation Programs. The objective of this study is to verify the recording of vital signs in the patient’s chart considering the completeness at the opportune moments. The data was obtained between April 2017 and March 2018 by IQG surveyors during national and international accreditation visits to 141 hospitals participating in Health Services Accreditation Programs. The recording completeness of the eight vital signs (blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate, body temperature, pain, pulse oximetry, level of consciousness and urinary output) was checked by hospital. At each visit, between 05 and 07 records of patients admitted to open clinical and surgical care units were randomly examined. In the absence of registration of vital signs in one of the medical records, it was considered that the hospital does not present completeness. Evidence for the recording of vital signs at the appropriate moments (hospitalization, transfer of care, immediate postoperative period, nursing prescription and risk score result) defined the completeness criterion in a sample of 141 hospitals. The data were collected from 141 hospitals. At appropriate times, heart rate and blood pressure was recorded in 96% of hospitals and heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature in 81%. The completeness of vital signs at opportune moments was evidenced in 65% of the hospitals. The next challenge of IQG will be to understand the reasons that lead the nursing team to neglect the measurement, recording and interpretation of vital signs in clinical practice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-177
Author(s):  
Zulkifli Ahmad ◽  
Mohd Najeb Jamaludin ◽  
Kamaruzaman Soeed

Vital sign monitoring is an important body measurement to identify health condition and diagnose any disease and illness. In sports, physical exercise will contribute to the changes of the physiological systems, specifically for the vital signs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of physical fatigue exercise on the vital sign parameters. This is significant for the fitness identification and prediction of each individual when performing an exercise. Five male subjects with no history of injuries and random BMI were selected from students of biomedical engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Based on the relationship between physical movement and physiology, the parameters considered were heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. Subjects were required to run on the treadmill at an initial speed of 4 km/h with an increase of 1 km/h at every 2 minutes interval. The effect of exercise was marked according to the fatigue protocol where the subject was induced to the maximum condition of performance. All parameters were measured twice, for pre and post exercise-induced protocol. The analysis of relationship of each parameter between pre and post fatigue was p<0.05. The results revealed that the heart rate and gap between blood pressure’s systolic and diastolic were greater for all categories except underweight, where the systolic blood pressure dropped to below 100mmHg at the end of exercise. Also, the body temperature was slightly declined to balance the thermoregulatory system with sweating. Hence, the vigorous physical movement could contribute to the active physiological system based on body metabolism. Heart rate and blood pressure presented significant effects from the fatiguing exercise whereas the body temperature did not indicate any distinguishable impact. The results presented might act as the basis of reference for physical exercise by monitoring the vital sign parameters.


Iproceedings ◽  
10.2196/16250 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e16250
Author(s):  
Nicole Polanco ◽  
Sharon Odametey ◽  
Neda Derakhshani ◽  
Mark Khachaturian ◽  
Connor Devoe ◽  
...  

Background Wellness devices for health tracking have gained popularity in recent years. Additionally, portable and readily accessible wellness devices have several advantages when compared to traditional medical devices found in clinical environments The VitalWellness device is a portable wellness device that can potentially aide vital sign measuring for those interested in tracking their health. Objective In this diagnostic accuracy study, we evaluated the performance of the VitalWellness device, a wireless, compact, non-invasive device that measures four vital signs (blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and body temperature using the index finger and forehead. Methods Volunteers age ≥18 years were enrolled to provide blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and body temperature. We recruited participants with vital signs that fell within and outside of the normal physiological range. A sub-group of eligible participants were asked to undergo an exercise test, aerobic step test and/or a paced breathing test to analyze the VitalWellness device’s performance on vital signs outside of the normal physiological ranges for HR and RR. Vital signs measurements were collected with the VitalWellness device and FDA-approved reference devices. Mean, standard deviation, mean difference, standard deviation of difference, standard error of mean difference, and correlation coefficients were calculated for measurements collected; these measurements were plotted on a scatter plot and a Bland-Altman plot. Sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the performance of the VitalWellness device by gender, skin color, finger size, and in the presence of artifacts. Results 265 volunteers enrolled in the study and 2 withdrew before study completion. Majority of the volunteers were female (62%), predominately white (63%), graduated from college or post college (67%), and employed (59%). There was a moderately strong linear relationship between VitalWellness BP and reference BP (r=0.7, P<.05) and VitalWellness RR and reference RR measurements (r=0.7, P<.05). The VitalWellness HR readings were significantly in line with the reference HR readings (r=0.9, P<.05). There was a weaker linear relationship between VitalWellness temperature and reference temperature (r=0.3, P<.05). There were no differences in performance of the VitalWellness device by gender, skin color or in the presence of artifacts. Finger size was associated with differential performance for RR. Conclusions Overall, the VitalWellness device performed well in taking BP, HR, and RR when compared to FDA-approved reference devices and has potential serve as a wellness device. To test adaptability and acceptability, future research may evaluate user’s interactions and experiences with the VitalWellness device at home. In addition, the next phase of the study will evaluate transmitting vital sign information from the VitalWellness device to an online secured database where information can be shared with HCPs within seconds of measurement.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meixia Du ◽  
Jie Zhao ◽  
Xiaochun Yin ◽  
Nadi Zhang ◽  
Guisen Zheng

Background: Assessing the impact of vital signs (blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation) on the death of patients with new coronavirus pneumonia would provide a simple and convenient method for the monitoring of subsequent illness, and therefore, in some degree reduce treatment costs and increase the cure rate clinically. Methods: Six databases were retrieved. The software R 3.6.2 was used for meta-analysis of the included literature. Results: 12 studies were included, which comprise 8996 patients affected with COVID-19 infection. The meta-analysis study found that blood pressure (MAP, SBP and DBP), heart rate, respiration rate and SpO2 are the risk factors for disease progression in patients with COVID-19. Among them, the increase in MAP and the decrease in SpO2 have the greatest impact on the death of patients with COVID-19 [MAP: MD = 5.66, 95% CI (0.34, 10.98), SpO2: MD = -5.87, 95% CI (-9.17, -2.57), P = 0.0005]. However, comparing the body temperature of the death group and the survival group found that the body temperature was not statistically significant between the two groups [body temperature: MD = 0.21, 95% CI (-0.01, 0.43), P = 0.0661]. Conclusion: The increase in MAP, heart rate and respiratory rate, as well as the decrease in SBP, DBP and SpO2 are all independent risk factors for death in patients with COVID-19. These factors are simple and easy to monitor, and individualized treatment can be given to patients in time, reducing the mortality rate and improving treatment efficiency.


Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 918
Author(s):  
Siraporn Sakphrom ◽  
Thunyawat Limpiti ◽  
Krit Funsian ◽  
Srawouth Chandhaket ◽  
Rina Haiges ◽  
...  

This article presents the design of a low-cost Wireless Body Sensor Network (WBSN) for monitoring vital signs including a low-cost smart wristwatch that contains an ESP-32 microcontroller and three sensors: heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and body temperature (BT), and an Internet of Things (IoT) platform. The vital signs data are processed and displayed on an OLED screen of the patient’s wristwatch and sent the data over a wireless connection (Wi-Fi) and a Cloud Thing Board system, to store and manage the data in a data center. The data can be analyzed and notified to medical staff when abnormal signals are received from the sensors based on a set parameters from specialists. The proposed low-cost system can be used in a wide range of applications including field hospitals for asymptotic or mild-condition COVID-19 patients as the system can be used to screen those patients out of symptomatic patients who require more costly facilities in a hospital with considerably low expense and installation time, also suitable for bedridden patients, palliative care patients, etc. Testing experiments of a 60-person sample size showed an acceptable accuracy level compared with standard devices when testing with 60 patient-samples with the mean errors heart rate of 1.22%, systolic blood pressure of 1.39%, diastolic blood pressure of 1.01%, and body temperature of 0.13%. According to testing results with 10 smart devices connected with the platform, the time delay caused by the distance between smart devices and the router is 10 s each round with the longest outdoor distance of 200 m. As there is a short-time delay, it does not affect the working ability of the smart system. It is still making the proposed system be able to show patient’s status and function in emergency cases.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 914.2-914
Author(s):  
S. Boussaid ◽  
M. Ben Majdouba ◽  
S. Jriri ◽  
M. Abbes ◽  
S. Jammali ◽  
...  

Background:Music therapy is based on ancient cross-cultural beliefs that music can have a “healing” effect on mind and body. Research determined that listening to music can increase comfort and relaxation, relieve pain, lower distress, reduce anxiety, improve positive emotions and mood, and decrease psychological symptoms. Music therapy has been used greatly in various medical procedures to reduce associated anxiety and pain. Patients have a high level of anxiety when they are in the hospital, this is the case of patients with rheumatic diseases who consult regularly to have intravenous infusion of biological therapies.Objectives:The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of music therapy on pain, anxiety, and vital signs among patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases during intravenous infusion of biological drugs.Methods:Fifty patients were divided into two groups: The experimental group G1 (n=25) received drug infusion while lestening to soft music (30 minutes); and the control group G2 (n=25) received only drug infusion. Measures include pain, anxiety, vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate). The pain was measured using visual analogic scale (VAS). The state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) was used for measuring anxiety, low anxiety ranges from 20 to 39, the moderate anxiety ranges from 40 to 59, and high anxiety ranges from 60 to 80. Vital signs (systolic blood pressure [SBP], diastolic blood pressure [DBP], heart rate [HR], and respiratory rate [RR]) were measured before, during and immediately after the infusion.Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used for analysis.Results:The mean age in G1 was 44.45 years (26-72) with a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.8. Including the 25 patients, 12 had rheumatoid arthritis, 10 had ankylosing spondylitis and 3 had psoriatic arthritis. The mean disease duration was 8 years. In G2, the mean age was 46 years (25-70) with a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.75, 12 had rheumatoid arthritis, 11 had ankylosing spondylitis and 2 had psoriatic arthritis. The mean disease duration was 7.5 years. The biological drugs used were: Infliximab in 30 cases, Tocilizumab in 12 cases and Rituximab in 8 cases.Before the infusion, the patients of experimental group had a mean VAS of 5/10±3, a mean STAI of 50.62±6.01, a mean SBP of 13.6 cmHg±1.4, a mean DBP of 8.6 cmHg±1, a mean HR of 85±10 and a mean RR of 18±3. While in control group the mean VAS was 5.5±2, the mean STAI was 50.89±5.5, the mean SBP was 13.4±1.2, the mean DBP was 8.8±1.1, the mean HR was 82±8 and the mean RR was 19±2.During the infusion and after music intervention in G1, the mean STAI became 38.35±5 in G1 versus 46.7±5.2 in G2 (p value=0.022), the mean SBP became 12.1±0.5 in G1 versus 13±1 in G2 (p=0.035), the mean DBP became 8.1±0.8 in G1 versus 8.4±0.9 in G2 (p=0.4), the mean HR became 76±9 in G1 versus 78±7 in G2 (p=0.04) and the mean RR became 17.3±2.1 in G1 versus 18.2±1.7 in G2 (p=0.39).This study found a statistically significant decrease in anxiety, systolic blood pressure and heart rate in patients receiving music interventions during biological therapies infusion, but no significant difference were identified in diastolic blood pressure and respiratory rate.Conclusion:The findings provide further evidence to support the use of music therapy to reduce anxiety, and lower systolic blood pressure and heart rate in patients with rheumatic disease during biological therapies infusion.References:[1] Lin, C., Hwang, S., Jiang, P., & Hsiung, N. (2019).Effect of Music Therapy on Pain After Orthopedic Surgery -A Systematic review and Meta-Analysis. Pain Practice.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaki Iguchi ◽  
Andrew E. Littmann ◽  
Shuo-Hsiu Chang ◽  
Lydia A. Wester ◽  
Jane S. Knipper ◽  
...  

Context: Conditions such as osteoarthritis, obesity, and spinal cord injury limit the ability of patients to exercise, preventing them from experiencing many well-documented physiologic stressors. Recent evidence indicates that some of these stressors might derive from exercise-induced body temperature increases. Objective: To determine whether whole-body heat stress without exercise triggers cardiovascular, hormonal, and extra-cellular protein responses of exercise. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: University research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Twenty-five young, healthy adults (13 men, 12 women; age = 22.1 ± 2.4 years, height = 175.2 ± 11.6 cm, mass = 69.4 ± 14.8 kg, body mass index = 22.6 ± 4.0) volunteered. Intervention(s): Participants sat in a heat stress chamber with heat (73°C) and without heat (26°C) stress for 30 minutes on separate days. We obtained blood samples from a subset of 13 participants (7 men, 6 women) before and after exposure to heat stress. Main Outcome Measure(s): Extracellular heat shock protein (HSP72) and catecholamine plasma concentration, heart rate, blood pressure, and heat perception. Results: After 30 minutes of heat stress, body temperature measured via rectal sensor increased by 0.8°C. Heart rate increased linearly to 131.4 ± 22.4 beats per minute (F6,24 = 186, P &lt; .001) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased by 16 mm Hg (F6,24 = 10.1, P &lt; .001) and 5 mm Hg (F6,24 = 5.4, P &lt; .001), respectively. Norepinephrine (F1,12 = 12.1, P = .004) and prolactin (F1,12 = 30.2, P &lt; .001) increased in the plasma (58% and 285%, respectively) (P &lt; .05). The HSP72 (F1,12 = 44.7, P &lt; .001) level increased with heat stress by 48.7% ± 53.9%. No cardiovascular or blood variables showed changes during the control trials (quiet sitting in the heat chamber with no heat stress), resulting in differences between heat and control trials. Conclusions: We found that whole-body heat stress triggers some of the physiologic responses observed with exercise. Future studies are necessary to investigate whether carefully prescribed heat stress constitutes a method to augment or supplement exercise.


2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (9) ◽  
pp. 2199-2217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil El Bitar ◽  
Bernard Pollin ◽  
Daniel Le Bars

In thermal neutral condition, rats display cyclic variations of the vasomotion of the tail and paws, synchronized with fluctuations of blood pressure, heart rate, and core body temperature. “On-” and “off-” cells located in the rostral ventromedial medulla, a cerebral structure implicated in somatic sympathetic drive, 1) exhibit similar spontaneous cyclic activities in antiphase and 2) are activated and inhibited by thermal nociceptive stimuli, respectively. We aimed at evaluating the implication of such neurons in autonomic regulation by establishing correlations between their firing and blood pressure, heart rate, and skin and core body temperature variations. When, during a cycle, a relative high core body temperature was reached, the on-cells were activated and within half a minute, the off-cells and blood pressure were depressed, followed by heart rate depression within a further minute; vasodilatation of the tail followed invariably within ∼3 min, often completed with vasodilatation of hind paws. The outcome was an increased heat loss that lessened the core body temperature. When the decrease of core body temperature achieved a few tenths of degrees, sympathetic activation switches off and converse variations occurred, providing cycles of three to seven periods/h. On- and off-cell activities were correlated with inhibition and activation of the sympathetic system, respectively. The temporal sequence of events was as follows: core body temperature → on-cell → off-cell ∼ blood pressure → heart rate → skin temperature → core body temperature. The function of on- and off-cells in nociception should be reexamined, taking into account their correlation with autonomic regulations.


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