Boosting telemedicine through remote monitoring of cardiac electronic devices during the Italian COVID-19 outbreak

摘要

Remote monitoring of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) affords an alternative to the one-on-one interaction required in traditional outpatient visits, and provides access to complete information on device performance [1]. The principal purposes of remote monitoring are: to reduce face-to-face hospital visits; ensure continuous follow-up and early detection of device malfunctions and subsequent clinical problems; and provide superior information processing [2]. On 31 December 2019, China reported a cluster of pneumonia cases with unknown etiology to the World Health Organization (WHO), the causative pathogen later being identified as a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) [3]. On 11 March 2020, WHO declared the pandemic phase of the outbreak [4].