Using Smartwatches to Observe Changes in Activity During Recovery From Critical Illness Following COVID-19 Critical Care Admission: 1-Year, Multicenter Observational Study.

Background: As a sequela of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large cohort of critical illness survivors have had to recover in the context of ongoing societal restrictions.

Objective: We aimed to use smartwatches (Fitbit Charge 3; Fitbit LLC) to assess changes in the step counts and heart rates of critical care survivors following hospital admission with COVID-19, use these devices within a remote multidisciplinary team (MDT) setting to support patient recovery, and report on our experiences with this.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, multicenter observational trial in 8 UK critical care units.