Telemonitoring for infants at risk of apnoea, bradycardia and hypoxaemia: transmission of data improves the family compliance during home monitoring

Abstract

We evaluated the compliance of families using telemonitoring and families using conventional home monitoring in infants at risk of apnoea, bradycardia and hypoxaemia. Families who used the telemedicine system could perform the remote data transmission from their home. Families who used the conventional system had to come to the regional centre to download the cardiorespiratory traces captured by the monitor. A total of 175 patients examined at the Regional Centre for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in Florence were included in the 5-year study. Good compliance was defined as an average daily use of 10 hours or more; insufficient compliance was defined as an average daily use of less than 10 hours. The Centre analysed 612 data downloads, 339 from the telemedicine system and 273 from the conventional system. This represented a total of 105,061 hours of data during 12,862 days of home monitoring. The compliance of families who used the telemedicine system was significantly higher than that of families who used the conventional system. Of the 105 families who used the conventional system, 50 (48%) were good compliers. Of the 70 families who used the telemedicine system, 49 (70%) were good compliers. Telemedicine was associated with a significant improvement in the compliance of families using cardiorespiratory monitors.