Smartwatch Electrocardiogram and Artificial Intelligence for Assessing Cardiac-Rhythm Safety of Drug Therapy in the COVID-19 Pandemic. The QT-logs study

Background: QTc interval monitoring, for the prevention of drug-induced arrhythmias is necessary, especially in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For the provision of widespread use, surrogates for 12-lead ECG QTc assessment may be useful. This prospective observational study compared QTc duration assessed by artificial intelligence (AI-QTc) (Cardiologs?, Paris, France) on smartwatch single-lead electrocardiograms (SWECGs) with those measured on 12-lead ECGs, in patients with early stage COVID-19 treated with a hydroxychloroquine?azithromycin regimen. Methods: Consecutive patients with COVID-19 who needed hydroxychloroquine?azithromycin therapy, received a smartwatch (Withings Move ECG?, Withings, France). At baseline, day-6 and day-10, a 12-lead ECG was recorded, and a SW-ECG was transmitted thereafter. Throughout the drug regimen, a SW-ECG was transmitted every morning at rest. Agreement between manual QTc measurement on a 12-lead ECG and AI-QTc on the corresponding SW-ECG was assessed by the Bland-Altman method. Results: 85 patients (30 men, mean age 38.3 ? 12.2 years) were included in the study. Fair agreement between manual and AI-QTc values was observed, particularly at day-10, where the delay between the 12-lead ECG and the SW-ECG was the shortest (?2.6 ? 64.7 min): 407 ? 26 ms on the 12-lead ECG vs 407 ? 22 ms on SWECG, bias ?1 ms, limits of agreement ?46 ms to +45 ms; the difference between the two measures was <50 ms in 98.2% of patients. Conclusion: In real-world epidemic conditions, AI-QTc duration measured by SW-ECG is in fair agreement with manual measurements on 12-lead ECGs. Following further validation, AI-assisted SW-ECGs may be suitable for QTc interval monitoring. REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT04371744. Background: QTc interval monitoring, for the prevention of drug-induced arrhythmias is necessary, especially in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For the provision of widespread use, surrogates for 12-lead ECG QTc assessment may be useful. This prospective observational study compared QTc duration assessed by artificial intelligence (AI-QTc) (Cardiologs (R), Paris, France) on smartwatch single-lead electrocardiograms (SWECGs) with those measured on 12-lead ECGs, in patients with early stage COVID-19 treated with a hydroxychloroquine & minus;azithromycin regimen. Methods: Consecutive patients with COVID-19 who needed hydroxychloroquine & minus;azithromycin therapy, received a smartwatch (Withings Move ECG (R), Withings, France). At baseline, day-6 and day-10, a 12-lead ECG was recorded, and a SW-ECG was transmitted thereafter. Throughout the drug regimen, a SW-ECG was transmitted every morning at rest. Agreement between manual QTc measurement on a 12-lead ECG and AI-QTc on the corresponding SW-ECG was assessed by the Bland-Altman method. Results: 85 patients (30 men, mean age 38.3 +/- 12.2 years) were included in the study. Fair agreement between manual and AI-QTc values was observed, particularly at day-10, where the delay between the 12-lead ECG and the SW-ECG was the shortest (& minus;2.6 +/- 64.7 min): 407 +/- 26 ms on the 12-lead ECG vs 407 +/- 22 ms on SW ECG, bias & minus;1 ms, limits of agreement & minus;46 ms to +45 ms; the difference between the two measures was <50 ms in 98.2% of patients. Conclusion: In real-world epidemic conditions, AI-QTc duration measured by SW-ECG is in fair agreement with manual measurements on 12-lead ECGs. Following further validation, AI-assisted SW-ECGs may be suitable for QTc interval monitoring. REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT04371744. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.