Why the study?
It was unknown whether EKG findings could serve as a useful tool to predict changes in repeat transthoracic echocardiography.
Do electrocardiogram (EKG) changes predict new imaging findings on repeat transthoracic echocardiography in hospitalized patients?
Do electrocardiogram (EKG) changes predict new imaging findings on repeat transthoracic echocardiography in hospitalized patients?
An unchanged EKG can help predict an unchanged repeat transthoracic echocardiogram in hospitalized patients, potentially reducing the need for unnecessary repeat imaging.
May support EKG-guided triage for repeat TTE; leaves open prospective validation before clinical adoption.
Aim: To determine if electrocardiogram (EKG) findings may be a useful tool to predict changes in repeat transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). Methods: We evaluated patients who underwent TTE during hospitalization and their EKGs, and whether findings differed between studies. Results: Of 229 hospitalized patients who underwent repeat TTE, 183 (80%) were abnormal. Each minor and major EKG abnormality resulted in a 1.8 (1.2 to 2.6; p = 0.002) and 2.1 (1.3 to 3.3; p < 0.001) increased odds of abnormal imaging on TTE, respectively. The negative likelihood ratio for an unchanged EKG to predict an unchanged TTE was 0.68 (95% CI = 0.62 to 0.73). Conclusion: Among hospitalized patients with prior imaging results, an unchanged EKG predicts an unchanged TTE.
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Kadado et al. (2023) studied this question.
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