Patients characteristics and the postal delivery
A total of 25 patients (63±16 years, 17 male) underwent long-term ECG monitoring using the Duranta delivered via the postal service.Table 1 shows the patient characteristics. The purpose of the long-term ECG monitoring was to investigate unknown palpitations (n = 3) and unknown syncope (n = 3), to follow up the tachyarrhythmias after the catheter ablation (n = 18), and to follow up the bradycardia (n = 1). Three of the 25 patients (12%) needed assistance in daily life. Figure 3 shows the distribution map of the patients enrolled in the study. The median distance to the Kobe University Hospital from patients’ homes was 10 km (range: 1.1–183 km).
Of the patients, 13 used the “One way” service and 12 used the “Two way” service. All the ECG devices arrived at the patients’ homes or the hospital on the scheduled day. There were no mechanical issues with the ECG devices during the postal delivery or during the monitoring.