Development and testing of a text messaging (SMS) monitoring software application for acute decompensated heart failure patients.
Leticia Lopez Pedraza, João Ricardo Wagner de Moraes, Eneida Rejane Rabelo-Silva
PMID 32901765WHAT IT FOUND
A text message system successfully monitored ten heart failure patients post-discharge, achieving a high response rate and triggering seven alarms for symptoms like shortness of breath.
Nurses used these alerts to guide patients, though the system faced technical blocks from telephone providers.
Key findings
01Of the 264 SMS messages sent to ten patients, 247 were answered, indicating high engagement with the monitoring system.
02The automated system triggered seven alarms for clinical deterioration, specifically for shortness of breath and fatigue, which the study nurse then used to guide the patients.
03Telephone providers blocked the software from sending messages because the automated, identical daily texts were flagged as illegal corporate spam.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study involved only ten patients, making it impossible to determine if the system actually reduces hospital readmissions or improves survival. The telephone provider blocked the messages during the trial, revealing a critical infrastructure vulnerability for this type of intervention. The follow-up period was short (seven days per patient), so long-term adherence to the messaging system is unknown. This was a feasibility test of the software, not a randomized controlled trial comparing it to usual care.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this SMS system reduces heart failure readmissions or mortality. This was a small feasibility study of ten patients that tested whether the software worked and whether patients answered messages; it did not measure clinical outcomes like re-hospitalization rates.