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Assessing the Usability of an Automated Continuous Temperature Monitoring Device (iThermonitor) in Pediatric
Sujay S Kakarmath1,2,3, Emily de Redon2, Amanda Jayne Centi2
1Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Insights
Continuous temperature monitoring using the iThermonitor device is feasible for caregivers of pediatric surgery and oncology patients. The easy-to-use technology did not increase caregiver anxiety during home monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric care
- Medical technology
- Patient monitoring
Background:
- Fever monitoring is crucial for sick children, yet caregiver fever literacy is often poor, leading to anxiety.
- Continuous temperature monitoring at home can be stressful for caregivers of seriously ill children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of the iThermonitor, an automated device, for continuous temperature monitoring.
- To evaluate its usability in pediatric patients recovering from surgery or chemotherapy.
Main Methods:
- 25 patient-caregiver dyads used the iThermonitor for 2 weeks.
- Caregivers completed surveys and daily logs; anxiety was assessed using the GAD-7 questionnaire.
Main Results:
- 19 dyads completed the study; most caregivers viewed temperature data daily.
- 74% experienced alerts; caregivers found the device easy to use and felt confident.
- Continuous monitoring did not increase caregiver anxiety.
Conclusions:
- The iThermonitor is a feasible and user-friendly device for continuous temperature monitoring.
- It is suitable for pediatric oncology and surgery patients, easing caregiver burden.
Background:
Fever is an important vital sign and often the first one to be assessed in a sick child. In acutely ill children, caregivers are expected to monitor a child's body temperature at home after an initial medical consult. Fever literacy of many caregivers is known to be poor, leading to fever phobia. In children with a serious illness, the responsibility of periodically monitoring temperature can add substantially to the already stressful experience of caring for a sick child.
Objective:
The objective of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of using the iThermonitor, an automated temperature measurement device, for continuous temperature monitoring in postoperative and postchemotherapy pediatric patients.
Methods:
We recruited 25 patient-caregiver dyads from the Pediatric Surgery Department at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Pediatric Cancer Centers at the MGH and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Enrolled dyads were asked to use the iThermonitor device for continuous temperature monitoring over a 2-week period. Surveys were administered to caregivers at enrollment and at study closeout. Caregivers were also asked to complete a daily event-monitoring log. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item questionnaire was also used to assess caregiver anxiety at enrollment and closeout.
Results:
Overall, 19 participant dyads completed the study. All 19 caregivers reported to have viewed temperature data on the study-provided iPad tablet at least once per day, and more than a third caregivers did so six or more times per day. Of all participants, 74% (14/19) reported experiencing an out-of-range temperature alert at least once during the study. Majority of caregivers reported that it was easy to learn how to use the device and that they felt confident about monitoring their child's temperature with it. Only 21% (4/9) of caregivers reported concurrently using a device other than the iThermonitor to monitor their child's temperature during the study. Continuous temperature monitoring was not associated with an increase in caregiver anxiety.
Conclusions:
The study results reveal that the iThermonitor is a highly feasible and easy-to-use device for continuous temperature monitoring in pediatric oncology and surgery patients.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02410252; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02410252 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/73LnO7hel).
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