EASI™ 12lead ECG with a handheld computer refines cardiovascular diagnosis in general practice.
J Electrocardiol
; 73: 96-102, 2022.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35749828
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Electrocardiogram (ECG) is used to a small extent in general medicine, because of general practitioner (GP) apprehension about interpretation and time consumption.AIM:
This study tested the hypothesis that user-friendly EASI ECG improves GP diagnosis of cardiovascular symptoms.METHOD:
Patients over 18 years with recent cardiovascular symptoms or auscultation rhythm abnormalities were included in this prospective, multicentric study (10 practices, 17 GPs). ECG recordings were made with Cardiosecur® (4lead ECG connected to a handheld computer for EASI™ processing). Besides clinical data, diagnosis/patient referral were noted before and after ECG and interpretation. GP diagnosis and ECG interpretation were compared with a reference diagnosis made by ECG specialist.RESULTS:
There were 338 patients; 66% had cardiovascular risk factors. ECGs were performed for chest pain (41%), auscultation rhythm abnormalities (33%) or palpitations (19%). Average time to perform ECG was 4.7 ± 2.1 min, with possible home recordings. Compared with standard ECG, improvement provided by Cardiosecur® was scored 9/10 (range 7-10) by GPs. GPs correctly interpreted ECG normality/abnormality in 77% of patients. Diagnosis was correctly changed for 14% of patients thanks to the ECG, and wrongly changed for 2%. One new appropriate final diagnosis was achieved for 9 ECG recordings (p < 0.001). Diagnostic certainty increased 1.9 ± 2.1/10 (p < 0.001). ECG brought about changes in GP decision making referral or treatment changed for 82 patients (24%) and complementary test for 69 patients (20%).CONCLUSION:
The EASI™ algorithm coupled with a handheld computer facilitates ECG recordings in the primary care setting, providing improved diagnosis.Palavras-chave
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Eletrocardiografia
/
Cardiopatias
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article