Assessment of Electrocardiography Knowledge Among Doctors Working in Emergency Department

Year 2021, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 103 - 110, 16.07.2021

Mustafa Emin Çanakçı , Murat Çetin , Özge Turgay Yıldırım , Mevlüt Okan Aydin , Gürkan Altuntaş , Nurdan Acar

https://doi.org/10.48176/esmj.2021.24

Abstract

Introduction: Electrocardiography (ECG) is an indispensable method for fast and reliable cardiac assessment in emergency departments. Physicians should have proper knowledge of ECG for accurate patient management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ECG knowledge of emergency medicine physicians.
Methods: General practitioners (GPs), emergency residents (ERs), emergency physicians (EPs) and cardiology physicians interpreted a total of 40 ECG samples in non-cardiac pathologies, arrhythmias, conduction disorders, and myocardial infarctions.
Results: A total of 178 physicians participated in the study - 27.5% of participants were ERs, 24.7% were GPs, 24.2% were EPs, and 23.6% were cardiologists. The general practitioners had the lowest success in ECG interpretation. Cardiologists were more successful in ECG interpretations of arrhythmias (A) and conduction delays (CD) than GPs, ERs and EPs (pA<0.001, pCD<0.001; pA<0.001, pCD<0.001; pA<0.001, pCD=0.006 respectively). On the myocardial infarction ECGs, they were more successful than GPs and ERs but there was no statistically significant difference between cardiologists and EPs (p<0.001, p=0.001 and p=1.000 respectively). There was no significant difference between EPs, ERs and cardiologists in ECGs for non-cardiac causes.
Conclusion: ECG knowledge level of general practitioners in emergency department was found to be insufficient. ECG knowledge of the physicians should be improved starting from medical school and continuously updated with in-service training during their professional careers in emergency departments.  

Keywords

Electrocardiography, emergency medicine, Medical Education

Supporting Institution

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Project Number

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Thanks

We thank to Mike Cadogan MD and Chris Nickson MD for the ECG support and we thank to Muzaffer Bilgin PhD and Güven Özkaya PhD for the statistical support.

Acil Serviste Çalışan Doktorların Elektrokardiyografi Bilgi Düzeylerinin Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Giriş: Elektrokardiyografi (EKG) acil servislerde hızlı ve güvenilir kardiyak değerlendirme için vazgeçilmez bir yöntemdir. Doğru hasta yönetimi için doktorlar uygun EKG bilgisine sahip olmalıdır. Bu çalışmanın amacı acil tıp hekimlerinin EKG bilgilerini değerlendirmektir.
Yöntemler: Pratisyen hekimler (PH), acil tıp asistanları (ATA), acil tıp uzmanı (ATU) ve kardiyoloji uzmanları; kardiyak olmayan patolojiler, aritmiler, ileti defektleri ve miyokard enfarktüslerinde toplam 40 EKG örneğini yorumladılar.
Bulgular: Çalışmaya toplam 178 hekim katıldı – katılımcıların % 27,5'i ATA, % 24,7'si PH, % 24,2'si ATU ve % 23,6'sı kardiyologdu. Pratisyen hekimler EKG yorumlamasında en düşük başarıya sahipti. Kardiyologlar, aritmi (A) ve ileti gecikmelerinin (İG) EKG yorumlamasında PH, ATA ve ATU’lara daha başarılıydı (sırasıyla pA <0,001, pİG <0,001; pA <0,001, pİG <0,001; pA <0,001, pİG = 0,006) . Miyokard enfarktüs EKG'lerinde kardiyologlar ve ATU’lar, pratisyen hekimler ve ATA’lara göre daha başarılı iken kendi aralarında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark yoktu (sırasıyla p <0,001, p = 0,001 ve p = 1.000). Non-kardiyak durumlara yönelik EKG'lerde ATA, ATU ve kardiyologlar arasında önemli bir fark yoktu.
Sonuç: Acil serviste çalışan pratisyen hekimlerin EKG bilgi düzeyleri yetersiz bulundu. Hekimlerin EKG bilgileri tıp fakültesinden başlayarak geliştirilmeli ve acil servislerde mesleki kariyerleri boyunca hizmet içi eğitimlerle sürekli güncellenmelidir.

Keywords

Elektrokardiyografi, Acil Tıp, Tıp Eğitimi

Project Number

yok

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