Continuous Vital Sign Monitoring in a Surgical Ward

Summary

Unsafe patient care remains a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality. In surgical wards, postoperative patients are typically monitored intermittently using the National Early Warning Score (NEWS-2), leaving periods during which clinical deterioration may go undetected. Continuous vital sign monitoring (CVSM) using wearable sensors offers the potential for earlier identification of deterioration compared with intermittent assessments.

CVSM was introduced in a hospital ward as part of a hospital-initiated pilot implementation and is used alongside standard monitoring with NEWS-2. The purpose of the study is to evaluate this implementation.

This observational study uses a pragmatic, quasi-experimental, multi-method, longitudinal design. The overall aims of the study are to evaluate the impact of CVSM implementation on patient outcomes, to explore healthcare professionals' perceptions of patient safety culture, turnover intention and pleasure of work, and to describe their experiences with implementation.

Conditions

• Patient Monitoring
• Wearable Devices
• Telemonitoring
• Patient Safety
• Patient Deterioration
• Nurses
• Healthcare Professionals
• Work-related Outcomes
• Implementation
• Implementation Research

Interventions

OTHER

Continuous Vital Sign Monitoring (CVSM)

The intervention consists of continuous vital sign monitoring (CVSM) using wearable sensors applied to patients. A total of 16 sensors are implemented in a 29-bed gastro-surgical ward. The system continuously records patients' vital signs and transfers data to the electronic health record. Alerts are generated when predefined thresholds are exceeded and are delivered to nursing staff via smartphones and workstation monitors. The intervention is implemented in addition to usual practice with intermittent monitoring using the National Early Warning Score (NEWS-2), according to hospital protocol. Nursing staff receive training prior to implementation, and clinical responses to alerts are managed in accordance with hospital procedures. The intervention was implemented from September 2025 and continues during the study period.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Norwegian University of Science and Technology

  collaborator OTHER

• University Hospital, Akershus

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Gørill H. Birkeli, PhD · University Hospital, Akershus

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-01

Primary Completion

2026-10-01

Completion

2026-10-01

Countries

• Norway