COVID-19 Early Detection in Doctors and Healthcare Workers (CEDiD) study: a cohort study on the feasibility of wearable devices

Alexander Zargaran; Sara Sousi; Gary Colville; Gill Radcliffe; Rayka Malek; Abdel Douiri; Kariem El-Boghdadly; Gaia Nebbia; Rocio T Martinez Nunez; Anne Greenough

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089598

COVID-19 Early Detection in Doctors and Healthcare Workers (CEDiD) study: a cohort study on the feasibility of wearable devices

Alexander Zargaran, Sara Sousi, Gary Colville, Gill Radcliffe, Rayka Malek, Abdel Douiri, Kariem El-Boghdadly, Gaia Nebbia, Rocio T Martinez Nunez, Anne Greenough

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Infectious agents such as SARS-CoV-2 require strategies to contain outbreaks, particularly in hospitals where the spread of infection is most likely. Biometric monitoring of heart rate, temperature, oxygen saturations and sleep might provide important early warning signs for SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to determine whether a smart medical device (E4 wristband) and a pulse oximeter used to continuously measure heart rate, skin temperature and oxygen saturation would predict the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

METHODS: A single-centre, prospective observational cohort of 30 healthcare workers (HCWs) working in areas at high risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were enrolled. HCWs were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-qPCR of daily self-administered swabs for 30 days. Each participant was asked to wear an E4 wristband to measure changes in their heart rate, skin temperature and sleep throughout the study.

RESULTS: Nine (30%) HCWs (median (range) age of 39 (27-57) years) tested positive for COVID-19. No significant differences were found in the pre-infection and post-infection variations in the heart rate (p=0.31) or skin temperature (p=0.44). Seven of the nine positive subjects reported symptoms at some point during the study period: unusual fatigue (40%), headache (33%) and runny nose (22%) were the most frequent. Analysis of daily trends in observations demonstrated significant fluctuations in biometric parameters.

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that wearable technology might be useful in documenting signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection in exposed HCWs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04363489.

Original language	English
Article number	e089598
Journal	BMJ Open
Volume	15
Issue number	4
Early online date	5 Apr 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089598
Publication status	Published - 5 Apr 2025

Keywords

Humans
COVID-19/diagnosis
Adult
Wearable Electronic Devices
Male
Female
Middle Aged
Prospective Studies
Health Personnel
Feasibility Studies
SARS-CoV-2
Heart Rate
Skin Temperature
Physicians
Oximetry/instrumentation
Early Diagnosis
Oxygen Saturation
Sleep

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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COVID-19 Early Detection in_ZARGARAN_Publishedonline5April2025_GOLD_VoR (CC BY)Final published version, 606 KBLicence: CC BY

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@article{6f368db4951a4c018683dd6f907f7022,

title = "COVID-19 Early Detection in Doctors and Healthcare Workers (CEDiD) study: a cohort study on the feasibility of wearable devices",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Infectious agents such as SARS-CoV-2 require strategies to contain outbreaks, particularly in hospitals where the spread of infection is most likely. Biometric monitoring of heart rate, temperature, oxygen saturations and sleep might provide important early warning signs for SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to determine whether a smart medical device (E4 wristband) and a pulse oximeter used to continuously measure heart rate, skin temperature and oxygen saturation would predict the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection.METHODS: A single-centre, prospective observational cohort of 30 healthcare workers (HCWs) working in areas at high risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were enrolled. HCWs were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-qPCR of daily self-administered swabs for 30 days. Each participant was asked to wear an E4 wristband to measure changes in their heart rate, skin temperature and sleep throughout the study.RESULTS: Nine (30%) HCWs (median (range) age of 39 (27-57) years) tested positive for COVID-19. No significant differences were found in the pre-infection and post-infection variations in the heart rate (p=0.31) or skin temperature (p=0.44). Seven of the nine positive subjects reported symptoms at some point during the study period: unusual fatigue (40%), headache (33%) and runny nose (22%) were the most frequent. Analysis of daily trends in observations demonstrated significant fluctuations in biometric parameters.CONCLUSION: These results suggest that wearable technology might be useful in documenting signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection in exposed HCWs.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04363489.",

keywords = "Humans, COVID-19/diagnosis, Adult, Wearable Electronic Devices, Male, Female, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Health Personnel, Feasibility Studies, SARS-CoV-2, Heart Rate, Skin Temperature, Physicians, Oximetry/instrumentation, Early Diagnosis, Oxygen Saturation, Sleep",

author = "Alexander Zargaran and Sara Sousi and Gary Colville and Gill Radcliffe and Rayka Malek and Abdel Douiri and Kariem El-Boghdadly and Gaia Nebbia and {Martinez Nunez}, {Rocio T} and Anne Greenough",

note = "{\textcopyright} Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group.",

year = "2025",

month = apr,

day = "5",

doi = "10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089598",

language = "English",

volume = "15",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - COVID-19 Early Detection in Doctors and Healthcare Workers (CEDiD) study

T2 - a cohort study on the feasibility of wearable devices

AU - Zargaran, Alexander

AU - Sousi, Sara

AU - Colville, Gary

AU - Radcliffe, Gill

AU - Malek, Rayka

AU - Douiri, Abdel

AU - El-Boghdadly, Kariem

AU - Nebbia, Gaia

AU - Martinez Nunez, Rocio T

AU - Greenough, Anne

N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group.

PY - 2025/4/5

Y1 - 2025/4/5

N2 - BACKGROUND: Infectious agents such as SARS-CoV-2 require strategies to contain outbreaks, particularly in hospitals where the spread of infection is most likely. Biometric monitoring of heart rate, temperature, oxygen saturations and sleep might provide important early warning signs for SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to determine whether a smart medical device (E4 wristband) and a pulse oximeter used to continuously measure heart rate, skin temperature and oxygen saturation would predict the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection.METHODS: A single-centre, prospective observational cohort of 30 healthcare workers (HCWs) working in areas at high risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were enrolled. HCWs were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-qPCR of daily self-administered swabs for 30 days. Each participant was asked to wear an E4 wristband to measure changes in their heart rate, skin temperature and sleep throughout the study.RESULTS: Nine (30%) HCWs (median (range) age of 39 (27-57) years) tested positive for COVID-19. No significant differences were found in the pre-infection and post-infection variations in the heart rate (p=0.31) or skin temperature (p=0.44). Seven of the nine positive subjects reported symptoms at some point during the study period: unusual fatigue (40%), headache (33%) and runny nose (22%) were the most frequent. Analysis of daily trends in observations demonstrated significant fluctuations in biometric parameters.CONCLUSION: These results suggest that wearable technology might be useful in documenting signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection in exposed HCWs.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04363489.

AB - BACKGROUND: Infectious agents such as SARS-CoV-2 require strategies to contain outbreaks, particularly in hospitals where the spread of infection is most likely. Biometric monitoring of heart rate, temperature, oxygen saturations and sleep might provide important early warning signs for SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to determine whether a smart medical device (E4 wristband) and a pulse oximeter used to continuously measure heart rate, skin temperature and oxygen saturation would predict the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection.METHODS: A single-centre, prospective observational cohort of 30 healthcare workers (HCWs) working in areas at high risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were enrolled. HCWs were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using RT-qPCR of daily self-administered swabs for 30 days. Each participant was asked to wear an E4 wristband to measure changes in their heart rate, skin temperature and sleep throughout the study.RESULTS: Nine (30%) HCWs (median (range) age of 39 (27-57) years) tested positive for COVID-19. No significant differences were found in the pre-infection and post-infection variations in the heart rate (p=0.31) or skin temperature (p=0.44). Seven of the nine positive subjects reported symptoms at some point during the study period: unusual fatigue (40%), headache (33%) and runny nose (22%) were the most frequent. Analysis of daily trends in observations demonstrated significant fluctuations in biometric parameters.CONCLUSION: These results suggest that wearable technology might be useful in documenting signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection in exposed HCWs.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04363489.

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KW - Male

KW - Female

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Prospective Studies

KW - Health Personnel

KW - Feasibility Studies

KW - SARS-CoV-2

KW - Heart Rate

KW - Skin Temperature

KW - Physicians

KW - Oximetry/instrumentation

KW - Early Diagnosis

KW - Oxygen Saturation

KW - Sleep

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U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089598

DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089598

M3 - Article

C2 - 40187781

SN - 2044-6055

VL - 15

JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

IS - 4

M1 - e089598

ER -

COVID-19 Early Detection in Doctors and Healthcare Workers (CEDiD) study: a cohort study on the feasibility of wearable devices

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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