title: An audit of utilisation of Holter tape facilities at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
abstract: Holter tape analysis is widely used to both confirm and exclude the presence of significant arrhythmias. We have studied the utilisation of the Holter service at Glasgow Royal Infirmary over a period of 6 months. During this period 305 x 24 hour Holter tapes were recorded. Out patient referrals generated 95% of these requests with only 5% of requests for in patient recordings. The median delay from request date to dispatch to the referring doctor was 14 days. No arrhythmia was detected in 77% and only 3% had a detectable symptomatic significant arrhythmia. The recording was felt to demonstrate the presence of a relevant arrhythmia in 17% of cases and to help exclude a possible arrhythmia in 61%. The capital cost per tape was 20.82 Pounds. In conclusion Holter monitoring is an inexpensive way of analysing the heart rhythm over an extended period which is probably underused.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Cardiology, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Sedgewick
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Khalid
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cobbe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D016507:Cardiology Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012606:Scotland; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires