Abstract P276: Assessment of the Competence in Electrocardiographic Interpretation Among Arabic Resident Doctors at the Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine Departments: A Multi-Center Online Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The ability to interpret electrocardiograms (ECG) is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment of the most relevant cardiac abnormalities. This study aims to assess the electrocardiographic interpretation abilities of resident doctors at internal medicine and emergency medicine departments in eight Arabic countries, emphasizing the most relevant cardiac abnormalities. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted between 7 th October 2022 and 21 st October 2022 in 8 Arabic countries (Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, and Algeria) to evaluate the ECG interpretation skills of resident doctors at internal medicine and emergency medicine departments. The questionnaire consisted of two main sections; the first section included sociodemographic information, while the second section contained twelve clinical case questions of the most severe cardiac abnormalities with their ECG recordings. We used the STATA and Excel Microsoft programs to conduct the analysis. Results: Out of 2509 responses, 630 were eligible for the data analysis (Response rate=25.1%). The average age was 26.85±1.7, and more than half of the participants were males (52.4 %). Internal medicine residents were (n=530, 84.1%), whereas emergency medicine residents were (n=100, 15.9%). Almost participants were in their first and second years of residency (79.8%). Only 36.2% of the inquired resident doctors have attended an ECG course. The majority of participants 85.6% recognized the ECG waves order correctly. 50.5% of the participants scored above 7.5/10 on the ECG interpretation scale. The proportions of participants who properly diagnosed atrial fibrillation, third-degree heart block, and atrial tachycardia were 71.1%, 76.7%, and 56.6%, respectively. No statistically significant difference was defined between the internal and emergency medicine residents regarding of knowledge toward ECG interpretation (P value=0.42). However, there was a significant correlation between ECG interpretation and medical residency year (P value<0.001); which, the fourth-year resident doctors have the highest score (mean=9.24, SD =1.6). As well, participants in the third and second years of medical postgraduate residency have a probability of adequate knowledge of ECG interpretation more than participants in the first year of residency (OR=2.1, 95%CI: 1.57-4, P-value=0.001), (OR=1.88, 95%CI: 1.26-2.7, P-value=0.002) respectively. Conclusion: According to the findings of our research, resident doctors in departments of internal medicine and emergency medicine in Arabic nations have adequate ECG interpretation abilities; nevertheless, additional development is required to avoid misconceptions about critical cardiac conditions.