European Research in Telemedicine/La Recherche Européenne en Télémédecine (2013) 2, 75—78

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TECHNICAL NOTE/CLINICAL CASE

Fast and furious: Telecardiology in acute myocardialinfarction triage in the emergency room setting

Action, réaction : utilisation de la télécardiologie dès l’entrée aux urgences, àla phase aiguë d’un infarctus du myocarde

N.D. Brunetti a,∗, L. De Gennaroa, G. Dellegrottaglieb,V. Procacci c, M. Di Biasea

a Cardiology Department, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italyb Cardio-On-Line Europe SRL, Bari, Italyc Emergency Department, Ospedali Riuniti, Foggia, Italy

Received 29 January 2013; accepted 20 February 2013

KEYWORDSEmergency room;Triage;ST-elevationmyocardialinfarction;Telecardiology

Summary We present a model of telecardiology ECG triage in cases of acute chest pain. A 61-year-old man with recurrent chest pain, radiating to the neck, was referred to the emergencyroom (ER) at Foggia University Hospital, Italy, with a red triage code. Due to a large number ofred code patients present at the ER all immediately requiring medical examination for suspectedacute myocardial infarction (AMI), the patient first underwent ECG triage evaluation with theCardio Vox P12 telecardiology recorder device by a nurse. The ECG was transmitted to theregional telecardiology hub, where the ECG was immediately read by a cardiologist; signs of aninferior ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) were present. The catheterisation labwas therefore immediately alerted and the patient underwent primary percutaneous coronaryintervention (PCI) within thirty minutes of hospitalisation. Therefore, in emergency settingswith high-volume work-loads, telecardiology screening may ‘‘speed up’’ STEMI diagnosis andtreatment.© 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

MOTS CLÉS Résumé Nous présentons un modèle de télécardiologie ECG de triage en cas de douleur tho-

Urgences ;Triage ;

racique aiguë. Un homme de 61 ans souffrant de douleurs thoraciques récurrentes, irradiantvers le cou, a été admis aux urgences au centre hospitalier universitaire à Foggia, en Italie,avec un code de triage rouge. En raison d’un grand nombre de patients avec un code rouge aux

∗ Corresponding author.E-mail address: nd.brunetti@unifg.it (N.D. Brunetti).

2212-764X/$ — see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eurtel.2013.02.002

76 N.D. Brunetti et al.

Infarctus dumyocarde avecsurélévation dusegment ST ;Télécardiologie

urgences, tous nécessitant immédiatement un examen médical pour une suspicion d’infarctusdu myocarde aigu, le patient a subi d’abord une évaluation de triage ECG avec le dispositif detélécardiologie Cardio Vox P12 par une infirmière. L’ECG a été transmis au centre régional detélécardiologie, où l’ECG a été lu immédiatement par un cardiologue ; signes d’un infarctus aigudu myocarde avec une surélévation du segment ST en inférieur étaient présents. Le laboratoirede cathétérisme a donc été immédiatement alerté et le patient a subi une intervention coro-narienne percutanée primaire dans les trente minutes suivant hospitalisation. Par conséquent,dans le cadre des urgences avec une charge de travail élevée, le dépistage de télécardiologiepourrait « accélérer » le diagnostic et le traitement de l’infarctus du myocarde aigu avec unesurélévation du segment ST.© 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés.

Etappep

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wmstherefore be helpful in reducing time to ECG, as shown by

arly triage of patients with acute chest pain is a challengingask in the emergency room (ER) setting: time is crucial as

delay in diagnosis and treatment significantly affects therognosis [1]. Initial work-up of chest pain in cases of sus-

ected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is usually based onarly ECG examination, possibly obtained in the pre-hospitalhase [1]. Nevertheless, obtaining an ECG may not be easy

igure 1. Alternative strategies for ST-elevation acute coronary syndrn Apulia (Southern Italy) public Health Care Service. Patients calling theith telecardiology support (via a single regional telecardiology ‘‘hub’’)

ED) usually requires confirmation by a cardiologist, therefore needing ‘ith consequent delays. ED telecardiology support, avoiding ‘‘manual’’

ans les services de soins de santé publique, de la région d’Apulia (Italien cas de syndrome coronarien aigu avec surélévation du segment ST,atients qui appellent le centre 15 sont soumis à l’examen ECG à domiégional de télécardiologie. Le diagnostic ECG des patients admis aux urgctuellement, le transfert de l’ECG des urgences vers le service de caose diagnostique, entraîne une perte de temps. Contrairement, un so’échange des documents papiers ECG.

p

r

hen the emergency department is crowded or in cases ofultiple simultaneous referrals with acute chest pain and

uspected acute myocardial infarction. Telecardiology may

ome diagnosis in patients with acute chest pain currently available emergency medical services (EMS) undergo home ECG examination. ECG diagnosis of patients admitted to the emergency department‘manual’’ transfer of the ECG from the ED to the cardiology ward,ECG transfer, reduces time to diagnosis.

du Sud), des stratégies alternatives sont actuellement disponibles chez les patients présentant une douleur thoracique aiguë. Lescile. L’ECG fait à domicile est pris en charge par l’unique centreences nécessite généralement une confirmation par un cardiologue.rdiologie se fait par personne interposée, ce qui, en matière deutien de télécardiologie réduit le temps de diagnostic en évitant

revious reports [2—4].A 61-year-old man with recurrent episodes of chest pain,

adiating to the neck, was referred to the emergency room

Fast and furious: Telecardiology in acute myocardial infarction triage 77

Figure 2. ECG with Cardio Vox P12 device performed at early emergency room triage. The ECG shows ST elevation in the inferior leads

es. Lres,

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rt

and ST-depression in the anterior, DI and aVL leads.ECG réalisé avec l’appareil Cardio Vox P12 dès l’arrivée aux urgencinférieures et un sous-décalage de ST dans les dérivations antérieu

of Foggia University Hospital, with a red triage code. Dueto a large number of red code patients present in the ERall requiring immediate medical examination for suspectedAMI, the patient first underwent ECG triage evaluation withthe Cardio Vox P12 telecardiology device by a nurse (‘‘fasttrack’’ with telecardiology support: Fig. 1). The deviceallows the recording of a 12-lead ECG, transmitted by mobilephone to a regional telecardiology hub where a cardiologistimmediately provides a report of the ECG findings by fax.The regional telecardiology hub usually supports all emer-gency crews involved in the ‘‘118’’ public emergency healthcare service, providing ECG assistance [5].

On the telecardiology ECG, signs of an inferior ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction with specular STdepression were present (Fig. 2). The catheterisation labwas therefore immediately alerted and the patient under-went primary PCI within half an hour since entering thehospital. Coronary angiography showed a stenosis on mid left

anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery and an occludeddominant left circumflex (LCX) coronary artery. LCX occlu-sion was treated with primary stenting with an everolimuseluting stent and symptoms were immediately relieved.

db

c

’ECG montre une surélévation du segment ST dans les dérivationsen DI et aVL.

On echocardiogram examination, a left ventricular ejec-ion fraction of 45% with inferior akinesia was present. Peakroponin level during hospitalisation was 171.55 ng/mL. Oneonth later, the patient underwent PCI on LAD. Three-onth follow-up was uneventful.

iscussion

welve-lead ECG is the gold standard in the diagnosis of ST-levation acute myocardial infarction; however, ER triageould be delayed when the ECG cannot be promptly reportedy qualified personnel within the ER. In this case, an ECGith telecardiology support may be helpful in reducing oper-tional times and time to reperfusion.

ECG recording with the Cardio Vox P12 device usuallyequires two minutes to acquire the data and two minuteso transmit the data to the telecardiology hub; ECG recor-

ing does not usually require the patient to lie down on aed and can be performed even with the patient sitting.

In emergency settings with high-volume work-loads, tele-ardiology screening may ‘‘accelerate’’ STEMI diagnosis

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nd treatment, with consequent positive effects on prog-osis. Currently, more than 250 patients with suspectedTEMI underwent a ‘‘fast track’’ triage ECG examination asescribed above in our emergency department.

isclosure of interest

he authors declare that they have no conflicts of interestoncerning this article.

eferences

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N.D. Brunetti et al.

2] Brunetti ND, De Gennaro L, Amodio G, Dellegrottaglie G, Pel-legrino PL, Di Biase M, et al. Telecardiology applied to aregion-wide public emergency health care service. J ThrombThrombolysis 2009;28:23—30.

3] Brunetti ND, De Gennaro L, Amodio G, Dellegrottaglie G, Pel-legrino PL, Di Biase M, et al. Telecardiology improves qualityof diagnosis and reduces delay to treatment in elderly patientswith acute myocardial infarction and atypical presentation. EurJ Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 2010;17:615—20.

4] Terkelsen CJ, Lassen JF, Norgaard BL, Gerdes JC, Poulsen SH,Bendix K, et al. Reduction of treatment delay in patients withST-elevation myocardial infarction: impact of pre-hospital diag-nosis and direct referral to primary percutaneous coronaryintervention. Eur Heart J 2005;26:770—7.

5] Brunetti ND, De Gennaro L, Dellegrottaglie G, Amoruso D,

Antonelli G, Di Biase M. A regional pre-hospital ECG networkwith a single tele-cardiology ‘‘hub’’ for public emergency medi-cal service: technical requirements, logistics, manpower andpreliminary results. Telemed J E Health 2011;17:727—33.