Continuous Temperature Telemonitoring of Patients with COVID-19 and Other Infectious Diseases Treated in Hospital-at-Home: Viture ® System Validation

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2024-08, Vol.24 (15), p.5027
• Main Authors: Sesma-Sánchez, Laura, Ruiz-Castellano, María, Romero-Roldán, Ainara, Álvarez-García, Laura, Morrás-Gómez, Marta, Tabar-Liberal, Idoia, Pulido-Fontes, Marta, Salmón-García, Belén
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Agreements; Body Temperature; Care and treatment; Caregivers; Chronic illnesses; Communicable diseases; continuous temperature monitoring; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; Data collection; detection of fever; Disease transmission; Female; Fever - diagnosis; Fever - physiopathology; Hospital patients; hospital-at-home; Hospitals; Humans; Infectious diseases; Male; Measurement techniques; Medical equipment; Middle Aged; Monitoring, Physiologic - instrumentation; Monitoring, Physiologic - methods; Patient satisfaction; remote patient monitoring; SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification; Smartphones; Software; Statistical analysis; Telemedicine; telemonitoring; Thermometers
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s24155027

Body temperature must be monitored in patients receiving Hospital-at-Home (HaH) care for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Continuous temperature telemonitoring (CTT) detects fever and patient deterioration early, facilitating decision-making. We performed a validation clinical study assessing the safety, comfort, and impact on healthcare practice of Viture , a CTT system, compared with a standard digital axillary thermometer in 208 patients with COVID-19 and other infectious diseases treated in HaH at the Navarra University Hospital (HUN). Overall, 3258 pairs of measurements showed a clinical bias of -0.02 °C with limits of agreement of -0.96/+0.92 °C, a 95% acceptance rate, and a mean absolute deviation of 0.36 (SD 0.30) °C. Viture detected 3 times more febrile episodes and revealed fever in 50% more patients compared with spot measurements. Febrile episodes were detected 7.23 h (mean) earlier and modified the diagnostic and/or therapeutic approach in 43.2% of patients. Viture was validated for use in a clinical setting and was more effective in detecting febrile episodes than conventional methods.