Zio® XT Patches in Pediatrics During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparisons Between In-Person and Mail-Home Application

Abstract

Abstract The Zio® (Zio) XT Patch is a 14-day continuous ambulatory ECG monitor. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Zios were mailed directly to patients for self-application. The purpose of this study was to compare the percent artifact, a marker for quality, of in-clinic (IC) to mail-home (MH) applications in a pediatric population. Methods:A single-center, IRB-approved study of patients 0-< 21 years of age with Zios were studied for wear and artifact time filtered out based on iRhythm’s proprietary algorithm. Results: In total, 284 Zios were randomly selected and analyzed for total wear time and artifact. Of these, 149 were IC prior to 12/31/2019 and 135 MH patches prescribed after 1/1/2020. No significant difference was found for percent artifact between the IC (7.8%) and MH (8.3%) group. Average IC wear-time was 127 hours compared to MH at 99 hours (p = 0.02). In conclusion, application of Zio patches outside of the pediatric cardiology clinic offers equivalent artifact, a marker of quality, as those applied in clinic and should be consideration as a viable alternative.