Can consumer wearables support outpatient health monitoring for patients with post-acute infection syndromes? A systematic umbrella review of accuracy, validity, and clinical utility data.
systematic_review · Level I
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42258488.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pdig.0001124.
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Abstract
An estimated 65 million individuals around the world have experienced Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC or Long COVID) and an additional 17-24 million are living with other post-acute infection syndromes. Current frontline treatment recommendations for these heterogenous, multisystemic conditions emphasize self-monitoring and non-progressive rehabilitation of activity and exertion. Consumer health wearables can potentially support symptom, activity, and exertion tracking; however, the strength of the scientific evidence supporting their use in this context is unclear. This pre-registered systematic umbrella review aimed to address this gap by synthesizing review-level evidence for the accuracy, validity, and clinical utility of consumer wearable-assessed biometrics relevant to PASC and related syndromes. Following PRISMA guidelines, 3,988 records were screened, with 42 reviews meeting inclusion criteria spanning more than 30 brands and over 150 distinct device series. This umbrella review characterized quality and risk of bias, synthesized and evaluated accuracy evidence for 17 biometrics, and evaluated clinical utility outcomes. Findings revealed highly variable review quality; substantial heterogeneity in device performance across biometrics, populations, and settings; and limited evidence for clinical utility. Two biometrics-heart rate measurement and atrial fibrillation detection-had comparably stronger support. Strengths and limitations to the current evidence base are identified, along with recommendations for informed patient use and the further research needed to responsibly support the integration of consumer wearables into outpatient care pathways. A living umbrella review repository is provided on the Open Science Framework so that findings can be updated as new, review-level evidence for emergent technologies becomes available.