Abstract

Background: Acute exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) represent a significant clinical burden that can result in frequent emergency room admissions and detrimentally reduce patient quality of life. Earlier detection using wearable medical devices may afford timely community intervention that minimises hospitalisation, global healthcare burden and disease morbidity and mortality.

Objectives: This study seeks to retrospectively assess the feasibility, sensitivity, and reliability of a wearable device (Frontier x2) to monitor clinically relevant physiological signals in volunteers with COPD who experience an acute exacerbation.

Methodology: The study will continuously monitor 60 volunteers with COPD, mMRC Grades 1-4 who have been hospitalised due to acute exacerbations within the past year. Data collection will last up to 18 months, with a focus on physiological changes occurring 168 hours prior to any subsequent hospitalisation due to a COPD exacerbation. Volunteers will complete a 10 min symptom questionnaire every two weeks to correlate subjective symptoms with device-captured physiological metrics.

Results: Preliminary data indicates that both devices have the clinical potential to detect physiological changes suggestive of impending COPD exacerbation. Initial feedback highlights high usability and patient acceptance, bolstering the possibility of routinely adopting these devices within primary care settings.

Conclusion: There is clinical potential for both devices to detect early stages of COPD exacerbation. These devices could support prompt clinical intervention, potentially lower hospital admissions and improve outcomes. Adopting these technologies has the potential to transform COPD management by emphasising proactive care over-reactive treatment, ultimately enhancing clinical outcomes and disease mortality and morbidity.