To Assess Competency in Interpretation of Cardiac Arrhythmias among Emergency Medical Professionals in Pune, India

Abstract

Introduction: The annual number of deaths from Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in India is projected to rise from 2.26 over the past several decades and have ranged from 1.6% to 7.4% in rural populations and from 1% to 13.2% in urban populations. Electrocardiography (ECG) is a non-invasive tool which is extensively used to understand and analyze a patient’s cardiac condition. It provides information about cardiac condition and helps in diagnosing acute coronary syndromes and cardiac arrhythmias. Emergency Medical Professionals (EMP’s) handle numerous cases of medical as well as trauma emergencies daily and are the first responders prior to hospitalization and the only reliable resource to help in revival of the patient. As it is of high priority, to give the upmost necessary care to the patients, being able to interpret and honing the skills to interpret ECG is of utmost importance and necessary. Despite its immense clinical value, there continues to be a lack of a comprehensive ECG interpretation curriculum in medical education programs. The goal should be to encourage the development of organized curriculum in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programs, and to ensure the acquisition of level-appropriate ECG interpretation skills while maintaining patient safety. Objective: To assess competency in interpretation of cardiac arrhythmias among Emergency Medical Professionals Study Design: Place of Study: Symbiosis Centre for Health Skills (SCHS), Pune India in May 2021. Methodology: The present study was conducted in May 2021, amongst 200 Emergency Medical Professionals (EMPs) employed in various hospitals in the city of Pune, India. American Heart Association (AHA) – Pre-course Self-Assessment questions were utilized for the study to assess ECG interpretation competency among Emergency Medical Professionals. Conclusion: The present study highlights the poor ECG competence amongst EMP’s. and is limited by its small sample size and interpretation of only three kinds of cardiac rhythms. Yet the study offers, insight on the current gaps in competence and offers simple solutions to improve the scenario.