Association of Wearable Derived Pulse Rate Variability With Pediatric Appendectomy Complications

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Digital Health
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Postoperative recovery monitoring in children is challenging for parents after hospital discharge.
• Consumer wearable devices (CWD) offer valid, real-time pulse rate data and pulse rate variability (PRVi).
• PRVi can serve as a digital biomarker for early detection of post-discharge complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if CWD-derived PRVi trajectories differ in pediatric appendectomy patients with surgical complications.
• To explore PRVi as an objective digital biomarker for pediatric surgical recovery.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of children (3-17 years) undergoing appendectomy for complicated appendicitis.
• Participants wore a Fitbit device for 21 days postoperatively.
• Mean daily PRVi was calculated and compared between patients with and without complications.

Main Results:

• Ninety-eight patients were enrolled; 11% developed surgical complications.
• Patients with complications exhibited a slower increase in mean PRVi over the 21-day recovery period.
• CWD-derived PRVi data showed distinct recovery trajectories based on complication status.

Conclusions:

• PRVi derived from CWD data is a viable objective digital biomarker for profiling surgical complications in children.
• This provides clinicians with a tool for enhanced postoperative monitoring and proactive complication management.
• Wearable device data can improve the detection and management of surgical complications in pediatric patients.