Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-27-2021
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Cavo-tricuspid isthmus atrial flutter (CTI-AFL) is an important arrhythmia to recognise because there is a highly effective and relatively low-risk ablation strategy. However, clinical experience has demonstrated that providers often have difficulty distinguishing AFL from atrial fibrillation.
METHODS: We developed a novel ECG-based three-step algorithm to identify CTI-AFL based on established CTI flutter characteristics and verified on consecutive ablation cases of typical flutter, atypical flutter and atrial fibrillation. The algorithm assesses V1/inferior lead F-wave concordance, consistency of P-wave morphology and the presence of isoelectric intervals in the inferior leads. In this observation study, the algorithm was validated on a cohort of 50 second-year medical students. Students were paired in a control and experimental group, and each pair received 10 randomly selected ECGs (from a pool of 50 intracardiac electrogram-proven CTI-AFL and 50 AF or atypical AFL cases). The experimental group received a cover sheet with the CTI algorithm, and the control group received no additional guidance.
RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in the mean number of correctly identified ECGs among the students in the experimental and control groups (8.12 vs 5.68, p
CONCLUSION: We developed a three-step ECG algorithm that provides a simple, sensitive, specific and accurate tool to identify CTI-AFL.
Recommended Citation
Frisch, Daniel; Frankel, Eitan; Gill, Deanna; and Danaf, Jad Al, "Algorithm for cavo-tricuspid isthmus flutter on surface ECGs: the ACTIONS study." (2021). Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers. Paper 71.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/cardiologyfp/71
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
PubMed ID
33504631
Comments
This article has been peer reviewed. It was published in: Open Heart.
Volume 8, Issue 1, 27 January 2021, Article number e001431.
The published version is available at DOI: 10.1136/openhrt-2020-001431
Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
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