Remote Monitoring to Detect Progression of Interstitial Lung Disease: Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Disease progression in interstitial lung disease (ILD) is unpredictable with inter-patient variability. We evaluated whether real-time monitoring of physiological parameters and symptoms predicts outcomes in ILD.

Methods: Twenty patients with ILD were recruited from the University College London Hospital (UCLH) between August 2021 and January 2022. They were monitored over 26-weeks using wearable devices, home-Bluetooth spirometry, and digital apps. Progression was defined as a decline of ≥5% in Hospital Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) at 6 months, or death.

Results: The progressed group (n=6) demonstrated a significant decrease in the mean of home-measured FVC, with a 12.90 % decrease at 6 months, p=0.003. In the stable group (n=11), the FVCHOME showed an increase of 3.46% over the same period (Figure 1). In the group that progressed, the heart rate significantly increased from 77 ± 13 bpm to 82 ± 16 bpm over six months, p= 0.03 (Figure 1).

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that disease progression in ILD is associated with a worsening of home-measured FVC and increase in heart rate. These findings highlight the potential of home measurements to detect the progression of ILD and lay the groundwork for larger studies, including the development of progression detection models and real-time interventions.