Woman and Man
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Extract
Background and study aims Patients having surgery are at high risk of complications, some of which can be life threatening. Identifying complications early makes them easier to treat and improves the outcome for the patient. One of the ways patients are monitored for complications is by charting their vital signs: blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate and temperature. The nurse looking after the patient will usually check these signs every four hours in the days after surgery. They are used to form the National Early Warning Score (NEWS), which can alert if the patient becomes unwell. One of the problems with NEWS is that patients can deteriorate in the interval between monitoring, which can delay vital treatment. This study is looking at a monitoring system that measures heart rate, breathing rate and temperature continuously. It is a wearable, wireless patch that is applied to the patient's chest and alerts the nurse if the patient's vital signs become abnormal. This could help detect unwell patients earlier than NEWS monitoring. The aim of this study is to find out whether this monitoring system is a feasible and effective way of monitoring surgical patients and if using it can improve patient outcomes. Who can participate? Adult patients admitted to participating surgical wards. What does the study involve? Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups. Those in the first group receive the continuous monitoring alongside standard NEWS monitoring. Those in the second group receive standard NEWS monitoring alone. Patients are followed up during their hospital stay to see if any complications occur and how quickly they are detected until they are discharged from hospital. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? The potential benefit of receiving a monitoring patch is closer monitoring during the patient's hospital stay. Any risks are likely to be small, but will be monitored throughout the study. Where is the study run from? St James's University Hospital (UK) When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? September 2015 to July 2017 Who is funding the study? Health Foundation (UK) Who is the main contact? Miss Candice Downey [email protected]
Inclusion criteria
- Specialty: Surgery, Primary sub-specialty: Other; UKCRC code/ Disease: Other/ General symptoms and signs