ECG Cases – Making complexes simple is a monthly blog by Jesse McLaren (@ECGcases), a Toronto emergency physician with an interest in emergency cardiology quality improvement and education. Each post features a number of ECGs related to a particular theme or diagnosis (with a focus on acute coronary occlusion), so you can test your interpretation skills. We challenge you with missed or delayed diagnosis, those with false positive diagnosis, and those that had a rapid and correct diagnosis. Cases are followed by a quick summary of the literature that relates to the cases, and we bring it home with practice changing pearls that you can use on your next shift.
Share your interesting ECGs with us!
ECG Cases 31 Is a 15 lead ECG better than 12? Diagnosing Posterior MI and RVMI
Is 15 lead ECG better than 12 lead for diagnosing posterior MI or right ventricular infarction? When do you need a 15 lead ECG? Jesse McLaren guides us through 8 cases to highlight the steps and pitfalls in diagnosing posterior MI and RVMI in light of recent ECG literature...
ECG Cases 30 Beware Computer Interpretation Errors
Computer interpretation of the ECG has been called a double-edged sword: when correct, it increases physician accuracy, but when incorrect it increases errors. This is especially problematic in the emergency department, where computer accuracy drops as clinical significance increases—with common errors for arrhythmias and ischemia. Jesse McLaren guides us through 10 cases where the computer interpretation misguides us and how to avoid these pitfalls...
ECG Cases 29 Misdiagnosis from Lead Misplacement, Artifact and Lead Reversal
In this ECG Cases blog we review 10 cases of possible artifact, lead reversal and lead misplacement. Can you spot the abnormalities and avoid the misdiagnosis?...
ECG Cases 28 Approach to Atrial Fibrillation
Jesse McLaren explains his AFIB mnemonic for approach to atrial fibrillation that involves 4 questions: 1. Is it atrial fibrillation? 2. If it is atrial fibrillation and there is rapid ventricular response, is it fast from a secondary cause? 3. If it is atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response without a secondary cause, what is the intervention? 4. Does the patient need an anticoagulant started in the ED? and runs through 10 cases to elucidate the nuances of atrial fibrillation management on this ECG Cases blog...
ECG Cases 27 Pericarditis – Diagnosis of Exclusion
Jesse McLaren guides us through 9 cases and explains how pericarditis is a diagnosis of exclusion through 3 simple steps: 1. Exclude more serious causes of chest pain, eg wraparound LAD occlusion, inferior OMI 2. Exclude complications of pericarditis, eg myocarditis, large pericardial effusion 3. Exclude normal variant ST elevation presenting with benign chest pain on this month's ECG Cases blog...
ECG Cases 26: Pulmonary Embolism and Acute RV Strain
In this month's ECG Cases Dr. Jesse McLaren runs through 10 cases and explains how the ECG can be integral in the diagnosis and management of pulmonary embolism, even though it is not incorporated into any of the commonly used decision tools for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism...
