Background/Aims: Elderly patients frequently present with conditions such as syncope or falls that necessitate investigation for the underlying aetiology to minimise risk of recurrence. Continuous cardiac monitoring is a simple yet effective tool that may offer diagnostic clarity in these cases. The ability to perform cardiac monitoring on aged care wards appears to confer numerous benefits, including continued access to holistic geriatric care within an aged care setting. This study aimed to evaluate the benefits of telemetry within an aged care setting to inform its wider implementation across aged care wards in NSW.
Methods: This was a prospective, observational cohort study of patients on an aged care ward receiving telemetry. Demographic data, reason for presentation, co-morbidities, baseline ECG findings, telemetry interpretation, and changes to management as a result of telemetry findings were extracted from the electronic medical record.
Results: 81 patients (mean age 87.17±6.54years) who received cardiac monitoring on the acute aged care ward were included for analysis. The most common reason for presentation was fall/syncope(n=46), followed by infection(n=7) and confusion/behavioural disturbance(n=7). 19/81(23.46%) of patients had change in management as a result of telemetry findings. This did not account for the patients in whom telemetry findings did not alter management, though was still instrumental in delineating the aetiology for the presentation.
Conclusion: Cardiac monitoring in aged care settings improves diagnostic clarity for elderly patients presenting with a variety of conditions. Careful patient selection is necessary to ensure appropriate resource allocation, minimise unnecessary investigations and patient inconvenience associated with continuous monitoring.