Efficient detection of AECOPD with at-home vital signs monitoring

Remote monitoring of vital signs in patients with COPD is effective with regard to the early detection of acute exacerbations (AE) of COPD (AECOPD). If acute exacerbations are detected early, therapeutical interventions and respiratory support can be supported swiftly, improving patients’ quality of life. 

“Early detection of AECOPD is crucial to improve the quality of life and care for patients with COPD, and to reduce the economic burden of this disease,” claimed Mr Yann Le Guillou (Biosency, France) [1]. “Although the annual risk of acute exacerbations is mainly determined by a patient’s forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), exacerbation history, age, and smoking history, the daily risk is related to vital signs, dyspnoea, exposure to pathogens, and polluted environments.” Mr Le Guillou argued that it is key to evaluate the daily risk in order to deliver appropriate treatments swiftly if needed. In the current study, including 8 patients with COPD, vital signs such as oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate, respiratory rate, and activity level were measured with an at-home device that delivered automated alerts to a monitoring pulmonologist. A patient-specific risk score, based on SpO2, heart rate, and respiratory rate, was used as a primary outcome measure.  

During a total of 12,444 monitoring days, 1,500,000 measurements were collected, and 21 exacerbations were reported. The risk score algorithm predicted the occurrence of acute exacerbations with a specificity of 90.9% and a sensitivity of 85.7% (area under curve [AUC] 0.94), anticipating on average 3 days in advance of the upcoming exacerbation.  

“There was a good performance in the detection of AECOPD in this study,” concluded Mr Le Guillou. “Finally, I would like to address that it is important that remote patient monitoring is effortless for patients with COPD because it will lead to patient acceptation and high compliance rates.” 

1. Le Guillou Y, et al. Vital signs remote patient monitoring in real-life for early detection of AECOPD. C15, ATS International Conference 2023, 19–24 May, Washington DC, USA. 

 

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Posted on 12 June 202313 June 2023