Noninvasive Remote Dielectric Sensing Vest Significantly Reduces Readmission Rate of Patients with Heart Failure

Abstract

Introduction Hospital readmission rates remain persistently high in the modern era despite optimal medical management following prescribed guideline directed medical therapy. Few interventions or therapies have demonstrated a significant reduction in 30-day readmission rate due to heart failure complications. The remote dielectric sensing (ReDS) vest manufactured by Sensible Medical Technologies is a noninvasive wearable device that may assist in optimization of volume status in patients with heart failure. Hypothesis Given preliminary data, our hypothesis is that the ReDS vest significantly reduces 30-day readmission rates for patients admitted for acute heart failure exacerbations. Methods A retrospective review was performed of 163 consecutive patients admitted between September 2017 and December 2017 to a dedicated cardiac telemetry unit with a diagnosis of acute systolic or diastolic heart failure. All patients underwent the standard of care with the addition of a ReDS vest reading within 24 hours of predicted discharge. Patients served as their own control, by analyzing admissions data for the 12 months previous to initiation of the ReDS vest assessments. Readmission rates of the patients were compared pre- and post-ReDS vest introduction. Results Implementation of the ReDS vest significantly reduced 30-day readmission rate between the ReDS and control groups (14.1% vs. 33.3%, respectively; ARR 19.2%, RRR 57.7%, p Conclusions The ReDS vest offers a noninvasive, efficient, user-friendly approach to impart a significant beneficial impact on clinical decision making and meaningfully reduce the 30-day readmission rate of patients admitted with heart failure exacerbation. Further investigation, including prospective randomized trials, is warranted based on this study.