The intensive care unit (ICU) is a hospital department where critically ill patients requiring organ support or intensive monitoring are admitted. Nowadays, the care provided in an intensive care unit has advanced so that more patients are being discharged alive. Advances in ICU care have increased patient survival rates, yet ICU admission is still associated with high morbidity and mortality both during and after the stay.

Identifying patients at high risk of complications during ICU admission is crucial. Even though there has been an increasing focus on predictive models, making accurate predictions with the data currently available remains challenging. A non-conventional parameter that appears to have promising value is heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects the fluctuations in time intervals between consecutive heartbeats and can be derived from the electrocardiogram. We investigated whether heart rate variability was able to predict ICU mortality and ICU length of stay. We employed a machine learning approach, assessing three models for each outcome. We used nested cross validation to estimate the performance and optimize and select the final models. Data from 468 adult patients admitted to the ICU for 48 hours or longer were analyzed and nine HRV measures were calculated. Two HRV measures, the power in the high frequency band and the standard deviation of 5-minute average RR intervals, showed a significant difference between the ICU survivors (n=398) and ICU non-survivors (n=71). While individual HRV measures had limited predictive power for ICU mortality, combining HRV with clinical features improved performance. The best performing model was an eXtreme Boosting Gradient classifier that used clinical features in combination with three HRV measures (power in the high frequency band, power in the low frequency band and the ratio between the power in the low frequency and high frequency band) achieving an AUC of 0.76. The models predicting ICU length of stay performed poorly, with the best model achieving a mean absolute error of 5.07 days. These findings suggest that HRV, when combined with clinical features, has potential in predicting ICU mortality, though further research is necessary before clinical implementation.

Monitoring ICU survivors after discharge is equally important, as half of these survivors suffer from Post Intensive Care Syndrome, which negatively impacts their quality of life and increases their healthcare needs. A team of researchers from the ICU conducted a pilot study establishing the feasibility of monitoring fifteen ICU survivors using eHealth, but a larger clinical trial was needed to assess feasibility on a larger scale. Therefore, we aimed to prepare for the ICU Recover Box 2.0 study. We evaluated the results and challenges of the first pilot. The study protocol was revised to include more participants and the use of new smart technology, specifically the Corsano CardioWatch, replacing the non-CE marked devices from the first pilot, which required 24/7 researcher availability. Preparations included finalizing the application to the Medical Ethical Review Committee and thinking out the study logistics, resulting in a comprehensive plan for the conduct of the study. Key takeaways from this process include the recognition that research is an iterative process of
continuous learning, that the purpose of the study must be carefully considered with ethical concerns in mind, and that the increasing importance of data requires careful planning for its security, processing and storage. The METC application has been submitted. Once approved, the study can proceed on a well-prepared basis.