Téléexpertise dans l’interprétation de l’électrocardiogramme d’une population noire africaine en Côte d’Ivoire (Afrique subsaharienne)

Conclusion La téléexpertise pour l’interprétation des ECG en Côte d’Ivoire est une application de télémédecine simple, réalisable et efficace qui contribue au diagnostic et à la prise en charge de certaines pathologies cardiovasculaires. Context The management of cardiovascular diseases demands accessibility to specialists. In the Ivory Coast, this specialized management of cardiovascular diseases is feasible only in the south of this country, at the Cardiology Institute in Abidjan. Objective The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of a telecardiology project in the management of cardiovascular diseases in black Africa. Materials and methods We established a telemedicine network by providing eleven health centers with “Medico-net” kits (MNK), allowing them to perform electrocardiograms (ECGs) when necessary and transmit them via the Internet for analysis by an expert cardiologist at the University Hospital of Bouaké (located at the center of the Ivory Coast) from September 2008 to February 2014. Results Of the eleven pre-selected centers, ten centers performed 689 tele-ECGs that were read by the cardiologist of the University Hospital of Bouaké. The city of Korhogo (in northern Ivory Coast), with 328 tele-ECGs (47.6%), was the most active site in the realization and the teletransmission of ECGs. The most frequent motive for requesting a tele-ECG was hypertension in 25% of cases; left ventricular hypertrophy was the most freque...
Source: European Research in Telemedicine - Category: Information Technology Source Type: research