The European TeleCheck-AF project on remote app-based management of atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Centre and patient experiences

Gawa?ko, Monika; Duncker, David; Manninger, Martin; Van der Velden, Rachel M.J.; Hermans, Astrid N.L.; Verhaert, Dominique V.M.; Pison, Laurent; Pisters, Ron; Hemels, Martin; Sultan, Arian; Steven, Daniel; Gupta, Dhiraj; Heidbuchel, Hein; Sohaib, Afzal; Wijtvliet, Petra; Tieleman, Robert; Gruwez, Henri; Chun, Julian; Schmidt, Boris; Keaney, John J.; M�ller, Patrick; Lodzi?ski, Piotr; Svennberg, Emma; Hoekstra, Olga; Jansen, Ward P.J.; Desteghe, Lien; de Potter, Tom; Tomlinson, David R.; Neubeck, Lis; Crijns, Harry J.G.M.; Pluymaekers, Nikki A.H.A.; Hendriks, Jeroen M.; Linz, Dominik

Abstract

Aims: TeleCheck-AF is a multicentre international project initiated to maintain care delivery for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during COVID-19 through teleconsultations supported by an on-demand photoplethysmography-based heart rate and rhythm monitoring app (FibriCheck® ). We describe the characteristics, inclusion rates and experiences from participating centres according the TeleCheck-AF infrastructure as well as characteristics and experiences from recruited patients.

Methods: Three surveys exploring centre characteristics (n=25), centre experiences (n=23) and patient experiences (n=826) were completed. Self-reported patient characteristics were obtained from the app.

Results: Most centres were academic (64%) and specialized public cardiology/district hospitals (36%). Majority of centres had AF outpatient clinics (64%) and only 36% had AF ablation clinics. The time required to start patient inclusion and total number of included patients in the project was comparable for centres experienced (56%) or inexperienced in mHealth use. Within 28 weeks, 1930 AF patients were recruited, mainly for remote AF control (31% of patients) and AF ablation follow-up (42%). Average inclusion rate was highest during the lockdown restrictions and reached a steady state at a lower level after easing the restrictions (188 vs 52 weekly recruited patients). Majority (>80%) of the centres reported no problems during the implementation of the TeleCheck-AF approach. Recruited patients (median age 64 [55-71], 62% male) agreed that the FibriCheck® app was easy to use (94%).

Conclusions: Despite different health care settings and mHealth experiences, the TeleCheck-AF approach could be set up within an extremely short time and easily used in different European centres during COVID-19.

Citation

Gawałko, M., Duncker, D., Manninger, M., Van der Velden, R. M., Hermans, A. N., Verhaert, D. V., …Linz, D. (2021). The European TeleCheck-AF project on remote app-based management of atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Centre and patient experiences. EP-Europace, 23(7), 1003-1015. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euab050

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 3, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Apr 2, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-07
• Deposit Date: Feb 8, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 3, 2022
• Print ISSN: 1099-5129
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1003-1015
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euab050
• Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; eHealth; mHealth; remote monitoring; telemedicine; TeleCheck-AF; COVID-19
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2726850