Should I Activate the Cath Lab When the Machine Reads “***ACUTE MI***”?

In a study of patients in a single intensive care unit, neither the machine nor a cardiologist accurately interpreted the electrocardiogram in isolation.

Physicians generally won't activate the cardiac catheterization laboratory on the basis of electrocardiogram (ECG) machine software interpretations because of concerns about inaccuracy. To test this belief, researchers retrospectively analyzed 2222 consecutive ECG recordings for patients who were admitted to a single intensive care unit (ICU) during a 15-month period for diagnoses other than acute coronary syndrome and who had concomitant serum troponin measurements.

Of 46 patients with machine readings of “***ACUTE MI***” (GE-Marquette 12SL interpretation software), 39 (85%) had troponin levels <5 ng/mL and 7 (15%) had levels ≥5 ng/mL. A cardiologist blinded to patients' clinical conditions agreed with the machine reading in 18 of the 46 ca…

Reviewing Author

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Editorial boardsKoenig & Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practices

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Editorial boardsKoenig & Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practices