ECG recording in emergency home visits.
During the first half of 1974, 756 emergency home calls have been made by 6 doctors in the City of Oslo. A portable ECG instrument was available at all visits. The visits were unselected as regards complaints. ECG was recorded in 7% of all patients and in 19% of all patients over 60 years of age. The main indication for recording an ECG was chest pain (nearly 2/3 of all recordings). In only a small number of cases did the recording give a definite result as regards diagnosis of management of the case. However, a slight additional benefit was obtained with a majority of the ECG recordings, including what we defined as a phychotherapeutic benefit. The results of this study indicate that the value of a portable electrocardiograph is very limited for emergency home calls in a city.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway