Real-life data on the workload of cardiac implantable electronic device remote monitoring in a large tertiary center

Abstract

Background: Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) and implantable loop recorders (ILR) are increasingly monitored by systems allowing remote transmission of data from the patient to the hospital. Remote monitoring (RM) has been shown to increase patient satisfaction and safety. However, real-life data on the number and causes of the RM transmissions, and actions initiated by them are scarce. Methods: A total of 3446 patients with CIED and 92 patients with ILR were included in the study. Data on the number of alerts, scheduled and patient-initiated transmissions as well as the causes and actions initiated by the transmissions were systematically collected from March 1 to December 30, 2022. The data was subdivided by the device type. Results: During the study period 7087 remote CIED and 1212 ILR transmissions were generated, (0.2 and 1.3 per patient per month), respectively. Of these transmissions 49% (4084) were automatic alerts, and 29% (2434) and 22% (1781) were scheduled and patient initiated, respectively. Most of the CIED alerts (73%) and the scheduled transmissions (90%) were nonactionable, and only 7% and 5% led to in-office follow-up, respectively. Off all ILR alerts (1011) PM implantation was scheduled to 11 patients. Conclusions: RM transmissions were common, but most of them were nonactionable. These real-life findings indicate that detailed analysis of the causes of the RM transmissions is important for optimization of the remote follow-up workload.