Abstract 17557: Single Limb-Lead Electrocardiogram Accuracy in Screening for Ventricular Pre-Excitation

Abstract

Introduction: Consumer devices capable of recording bipolar ECGs have been investigated and validated for atrial fibrillation detection and QT interval monitoring. Application of the technology to other electrical abnormalities like Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) is limited but could enhance the ability to screen for risk of cardiac arrhythmias before they occur. Aims: 1. Determine how frontal lead ECGs perform in identification of ventricular pre-excitation (VPE).2. Determine which of the standard 3 bipolar leads perform best for this detection.3. Quantify the impact of training of the interpreter on identification of VPE with single lead tracings. Methods: Standard 12-lead ECGs were obtained from 20 patients before and after successful radiofrequency ablation of a single manifest accessory pathway. 3-second tracings were abstracted from leads I, II, and III from each ECG and were presented in random order to interpreters of varying experience and specialization who were asked to evaluate whether the tracing showed VPE. Results were tabulated to determine the accuracy of VPE identification. Descriptive statistics of the performance of each lead (alone and in combinations) and interpreter type were calculated. Results: A total of 52 respondents interpreted 5108 ECG tracings. Some respondents did not read all tracings and there were unequal numbers of respondents in the different interpreter categories. The Table below depicts the performance of each lead and respondent subgroups. Conclusions: VPE can be identified with reasonable accuracy using a single limb-lead ECG tracing, with lead I performing better than leads II and III. Addition of lead II or III improved accuracy by 5% only. Most consumer devices record lead I, suggesting that they could be used to screen for WPW. Interpreter specialization correlated more with accuracy than training status.