Assessment of prehospital chest pain using telecardiology.
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Date
2002-09-09
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Abstract
Two hundred general practitioners were equipped with a portable electrocardiograph which could transmit a 12 lead electrocardiogram ECG via a telephone line A cardiologist was available 24 h a day for an interactive teleconsultation In a 13 month period there were 5073 calls to the telecardiology service and 952 subjects with chest pain were identified The telecardiology service allowed the general practitioners to manage 700 cases 74 themselves further diagnostic tests were requested for 162 patients 17 and 83 patients 9 were sent to the hospital emergency department In the last group a cardiological diagnosis was confirmed in 60 patients and refuted in 23 Seven patients in whom the telecardiology service failed to detect a cardiac problem were hospitalized in the subsequent 48 h The telecardiology service showed a sensitivity of 97 4 a specificity of 89 5 and a diagnostic accuracy of 86 9 for chest pain Telemedicine could be a useful tool in the diagnosis of chest pain in primary care