Postoperative Home Monitoring After Joint Replacement: Feasibility Study.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Digital Health
• Transitional Care

Background:

• Prospective observational study investigating a postoperative home monitoring system for elective primary hip or knee replacements.
• Focus on transitional care to provide real-time support for patients post-surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of a remote patient monitoring system for vital signs after hip or knee replacement surgery.
• Primary outcome: mean percentage of successful wireless transmissions (blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, pain scores) until postoperative day 4.
• Secondary outcome: evaluation of patient satisfaction with the monitoring system.

Main Methods:

• Inclusion criteria: expected hospital stay ≤1 day, age 18-80, Revised Cardiac Risk Index ≤ class 2, and available caregiver support.
• Utilized wireless monitoring equipment for remote patient monitoring (Telus Health).
• A multidisciplinary care team managed patient data and provided support.

Main Results:

• 54 patients completed the study, with a mean successful wireless transmission rate of 96.4%.
• High patient satisfaction reported, with a median recommendation score of 4.5 out of 5.
• No mortality or hospital readmissions were recorded at 30 days post-surgery.

Conclusions:

• Postoperative home monitoring is a feasible and effective new paradigm for surgical transitional care.
• Successful real-time transmission of vital signs supports patient recovery after discharge.
• The model is generalizable to other surgical patient populations requiring post-discharge monitoring.