ABSTRACT
Objectives: The primary objective was to evaluate the ECG trace paper evaluation current knowledge level in a group of Orthopaedic surgeons divided into juniors and seniors according to M.D. degree possession. Methods: A cross sectional study through self-administered questionnaires at a university hospital Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Department. The questionnaire included five sections: 1-Basic participants' characteristics, 2-Participants' perception of their ECG evaluation current knowledge level, 3-The main body of the questionnaire was an ECG quiz (seven); the participant was asked to determine if it was normal and the possible diagnosis, 4-Participants' desired ECG evaluation knowledge level, and 5-Willingness to attend ECG evaluation workshops. Results: Of the 121 actively working individuals in the department, 96 (97.3 %) finished the questionnaire, and 85 (77.3 %) were valid for final evaluation. The participants' mean age was 30.4 ± 6.92 years, 76.5 % juniors and 23.5 % seniors. 83.5 % of the participants perceived their current ECG evaluation knowledge as none or limited. For participants' ability to evaluate an ECG, higher scores were achieved when determining if the ECG was normal or abnormal, with a mean score percentage of 79.32 % ± 23.27. However, the scores were lower when trying to reach the diagnosis, with a mean score percentage of 43.02 % ± 27.48. There was a significant negative correlation between the participant's age and answering the normality question correctly (r = -0.277, p = 0.01); and a significant positive correlation between answering the diagnosis question correctly and the desired level of knowledge and the intention to attend a workshop about ECG evaluation, r = 0.355 (p = 0.001), and r = 0.223 (p = 0.04), respectively. Only 56.5 % of the participants desired to get more knowledge, and 81.2 % were interested in attending ECG evaluation workshops. Conclusion: Orthopaedic surgeons showed sufficient knowledge when determining the normality of ECG trace papers; however, they could not reach the proper diagnosis, and Junior surgeons performed slightly better than their senior peers. Most surgeons are willing to attend ECG evaluation and interpretation workshops to improve their knowledge level.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Myocarditis is a highly heterogeneous disorder with a challenging diagnostic work-up. We aimed to focus on the possible diagnostic workup for this condition in settings where endomyocardial biopsy as a gold standard is not always feasible, detect the etiologic cardiotropic viruses in our locality, and follow the clinical course in patients admitted with clinically suspected myocarditis. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study. We recruited patients with clinically suspected myocarditis presenting at a university hospital from October 1st, 2020 until March 31st, 2021. All Patients had a diagnostic coronary angiography and were included only if they had a non-obstructive coronary artery disease. All patients also had cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) with contrast. Sera were obtained from all suspected patients for detection of antibodies against viruses using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and viral genomes using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and reverse transcription-PCR. Endomyocardial biopsy was done for patients with a typical CMR picture of myocarditis. RESULTS: Out of 2163 patients presenting to the hospital within the 6 months, only 51 met the inclusion criteria. Males represented 73%, with a mean age of 39 ± 16 years. CMR showed an ischemic pattern in 4 patients and thus they were excluded. We classified patients into two categories based on CMR results: group A (CMR-positive myocarditis), 12 patients (25.5%), and group B (CMR-negative myocarditis), 35 (74.5%) patients. On serological analysis, 66% of patients (n = 31/47) showed antibodies against the common cardiotropic viruses. Parvovirus B19 IgM in 22 patients (47%) and coxsackievirus IgM in 16 (34%) were the most observed etiologies. Regarding the outcome, 42.5% of patients recovered left ventricular ejection fraction and three patients died at 6 months' clinical follow-up. CONCLUSION: Patients with Clinically suspected myocarditis represented 2.2% of total hospital admissions in 6 months. CMR is only a good positive test for the diagnosis of acute myocarditis. Parvovirus B19 and coxsackievirus were the most common pathogens in our locality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trial registration no., NCT04312490; first registration: 18/03/2020. First recruited case 01/10/2020. URL: https://register. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/prs/app/action/SelectProtocol?sid=S0009O3D&selectaction=Edit&uid=U0002DVP&ts=2&cx=9zdfin .