| Electrocardiogram interpretation in general practice: relevance to prehospital thrombolysis. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 8398491 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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OBJECTIVE: To assess, in the context of their possible role in prehospital thrombolysis, the ability of general practitioners to recognise acute transmural myocardial ischaemia/infarction on an electrocardiogram. DESIGN: 150 doctors (every fifth name) were selected from the alphabetical list of 750 on Merseyside general practitioner register and without prior warning were asked to interpret a series of six 12 lead electrocardiograms. Three of these showed acute transmural ischaemia/infarction, one was normal, and two showed non-acute abnormalities. Details of doctors' ages, postgraduate training, and clinical practice were sought. SETTING: General practitioners' surgeries and postgraduate centres within the Merseyside area. PARTICIPANTS: 106 general practitioners (mean age 45 years) agreed to participate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Accuracy of general practitioners' interpretations of the six electrocardiograms. RESULTS: 82% of general practitioners correctly recognised a normal electrocardiogram. Recognition of acute abnormalities was less reliable. Between 33% and 61% correctly identified acute transmural ischaemia/infarction depending on the specific trace presented. Accurate localisation of the site of the infarct was achieved only by between 8% and 30% of participants, while between 22% and 25% correctly interpreted non-acute abnormalities. Neither routine use of electrocardiography nor postgraduate hospital experience in general medicine was associated with significantly greater expertise. CONCLUSION: The current level of proficiency of a sample of general practitioners in the Merseyside area in recognising acute transmural ischaemia/infarction on an electrocardiogram suggests that refresher training is needed if general practitioners are to give prehospital thrombolysis. |
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Authors:
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W A McCrea; S Saltissi |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: British heart journal Volume: 70 ISSN: 0007-0769 ISO Abbreviation: Br Heart J Publication Date: 1993 Sep |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 1993-11-17 Completed Date: 1993-11-17 Revised Date: 2010-03-24 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0370634 Medline TA: Br Heart J Country: ENGLAND |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 219-25 Citation Subset: AIM; IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Cardiology, Royal Liverpool Hospital. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Adult Aged Clinical Competence* Electrocardiography* Emergencies Family Practice* Humans Middle Aged Myocardial Infarction / diagnosis* Thrombolytic Therapy Time Factors |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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Br Heart J. 1993 Sep;70(3):218
[PMID:
8398490
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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