Abstract 244: ECG Recording Errors Prevalence in a Hospital Setting [Session Title: Poster Session PM]

Discussion: Electrocardiography remains the cornerstone of early diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disease in the inpatient and outpatient setting. ECG recording artifacts have been reported with variable frequency, with inpatient recordings likely suffering greater errors, depending on the acuity of the situation. We observed that in the outpatient setting, there was 3.6% (11/309) prevalence of recording error, while in the inpatient and emergency department setting there was 6.6% (60/903) prevalence of ECG recording errors. Despite the overall small percentages, this is an alarming problem, especially with regards to inpatient ECGs when the results often prompt critical treatment decisions. The reason for the discrepancy between inpatient and outpatient ECG errors is not clear. Potential causes may include the intensity of the situation with compromise of proper lead placement, such as use of Mason-Likar configuration or placing leads above the left breast in female patients or unavailability of proper recording surfaces as in trauma or burn patients, but may also be caused by the lack of availability of adequately trained staff especially in the after-hour situations. Adequate training of staff to perform proper ECGs, and creation of robust electrocardiographic interpretation algorithms to recognize more recording errors on-screen before printing is called for.
Source: Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Session Title: Poster Session PM Source Type: research