Evaluation of a smartphone electrocardiograph in healthy foals and comparison to standard base-apex electrocardiography.
Abstract: Smartphone-based technology for ECG recording has recently spread as a complementary tool for electrocardiographic screening and monitoring in adult horses and in other animal species. The present study aimed to assess the feasibility and accuracy of a smartphone-based ECG in healthy foals. This was a prospective observational study (authorization n. 45,865/2016) including 22 foals aged less than 21 days. A reference standard base-apex ECG (rECG) was acquired, and a smartphone ECG (sECG) was recorded immediately after by using a smartphone-based single lead electrocardiograph. All ECG tracings were evaluated in a blind fashion by a single board-certified cardiologist, who judged whether the tracings were acceptable for interpretation and performed ECG measurements and diagnosis. The Spearman correlation coefficient, the Cohen's k test and the Bland-Altman test were used to assess the agreement between sECG and rECG. All sECG tracings were acceptable for interpretation. All foals showed sinus rhythm on both rRCG and sECG tracings, with perfect agreement in heart rate classification (κ = 0.87; p < 0.001). No clinically relevant differences were found in the assessment of waves and intervals duration. Concerning P wave and QRS complex polarity, the percentage of agreement between rECG and sECG was 78% and 83%, respectively. About ECG tracing quality, rECG and sECG showed a substantial agreement (κ = 0.624; p < 0.001). In conclusion, the smartphone-based ECG device tested in the present study recorded good quality single-lead ECG tracings in foals, reliable for heart rate and ECG measurements, but different polarity of P waves and QRS complexes was found in some foals in comparison to rECG.
© 2023. The Author(s).
Publication Date: 2023-11-10 PubMed ID: 37947988PubMed Central: 7754639DOI: 10.1007/s11259-023-10206-xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research conducted provides evidence that utilising smartphone-based technology for recording electrocardiograms (ECGs) is feasible and accurate in young, healthy foals. The study compared the results of traditional base-apex electrocardiograms (rECGs) with smartphone ECGs (sECGs) and found a high level of agreement between the two methods.
Research Methodology
- The study was a prospective observational one, and it included 22 foals that were younger than 21 days.
- For each foal, a traditional rECG was taken first, followed by an sECG recording using a smartphone-based single-lead electrocardiograph.
- All the ECG readings were evaluated blindly by a single, board-certified cardiologist. The cardiologist determined whether the readings were suitable for interpretation and then performed necessary ECG measurements and diagnoses.
- The researchers used several statistical tests: the Spearman correlation coefficient, the Cohen’s k test, and the Bland-Altman test to analyse the agreement between the rECGs and the sECGs.
Results of the Study
- All the sECG tracings were deemed valid for analysis. The heart rates recorded in both methods agreed perfectly, indicating high reliability of the sECGs.
- There were no significant differences detected in the evaluation of wave duration and interval timing across the two ECG methods.
- When comparing the polarity of P waves and QRS complexes, the agreement between the rECGs and sECGs was moderately high, at 78% and 83% respectively.
- When evaluating the overall quality of ECG traces, there was a substantial agreement between the traditional and the smartphone method.
Conclusions
- The research concluded that a smartphone-based ECG device can effectively record single-lead ECG traces in foals.
- These sECG recordings are reliable for assessing heart rate and making ECG measurements.
- However, discrepancies were noted in the polarity of some P waves and QRS complexes compared to the traditional rECGs. This suggests that while sECGs can be a valuable diagnostic tool, they may not entirely replace traditional methods in certain circumstances.
Cite This Article
APA
Bindi F, Vezzosi T, Sala G, Freccero F, Marmorini P, Bonelli F, Sgorbini M.
(2023).
Evaluation of a smartphone electrocardiograph in healthy foals and comparison to standard base-apex electrocardiography.
Vet Res Commun.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-023-10206-x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, via Livornese, San Piero a Grado, 56122, Italy.
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, via Livornese, San Piero a Grado, 56122, Italy. tommaso.vezzosi@unipi.it.
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, via Livornese, San Piero a Grado, 56122, Italy.
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Bologna, 40064, Italy.
- Private Practitioner, Pisa, Italy.
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, via Livornese, San Piero a Grado, 56122, Italy.
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, via Livornese, San Piero a Grado, 56122, Italy.
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