A simple curriculum paired with structured faculty evaluation and feedback can improve some parameters of sign-out. Structured evaluative sign-out tools may be useful to improve and teach sign-out skills.

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Introduction Changes in the autonomic nervous system activity (ANS) are a major trigger of life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTA). Mental arithmetic, a condition administered in a laboratory setting, can provide insight into the ANS effects on cardiac physiology. We examined the responses of cardiac repolarization to laboratory-induced psychological stressors in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) with the objective of identifying the indices that differentiate patients with and without subsequent VTA in follow-up. Methods Continuous ECG signals were recorded using 3 standard bipolar (Holter) leads in 56 patients (age: 63.6±11.9, female: 12%, LVEF: 32.3±11) with ICDs during mental arithmetic. The patients were separated into those with subsequent VTA during 3–4 years of follow-up (Group 1: N=9 pts) and those without VTA (Group 2: N=47 pts). Changes in repolarization (QT-interval, mean T-wave amplitude (Tamp), and T-wave area (Tarea) were analyzed during 5min of baseline, stress and recovery. The temporal instability of Tamp and Tarea was examined using the range (Δ) and variance (σ2) of beat-to-beat variations of the corresponding parameters. Results There were no significant differences in HR between the two groups at baseline (61 vs. 63 bpm, p=0.97), during stress (64 vs. 65 bpm, p=0.40), and recovery (62 vs. 61 bpm, p= 0.88). However, during mental stress and post-stress recovery ΔTamp was almost 2-fold greater in Group 1 compared with Group 2 (111 (57–203)) vs. 68 (44–94) μV p=0.04, respectively). Changes in QT-intervals were also greater in Group 1 compared with Group 2 (p=0.02). Conclusion Among patients with ICDs, changes of T-wave amplitude after psychological stress were greater in those with subsequent arrhythmic events. This might signal proarrhythmic repolarization response and help identify patients who would benefit the most from ICD implantation and proactive management.

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BackgroundTo evaluate the choice and utility of pacing maneuvers in the electrophysiology (EP) laboratory in establishing supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) mechanism.MethodsWe retrospectively examined a cohort of 160 consecutive patients with SVT presenting for invasive EP evaluation to a single center with 8 electrophysiologists. We analyzed the utility of the two most commonly used pacing maneuvers: (1) ventricular entrainment (VE) and (2) His-refractory premature ventricular stimuli (HRPVC) during SVT.ResultsVE was performed in 96 patients: atrial tachycardia (AT) 12, atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) 66, and orthodromic reciprocating tachycardia (ORT) 18. During VE, AT patients were most likely to have ventriculo-atrial (VA) dissociation (AT 58%, AVNRT 18%, ORT 0%, P < 0.001) and had a tendency towards less SVT termination (AT 0%, AVNRT 9%, ORT 11%, P = 0.19). HRPVCs were delivered in 39 patients: AT 1, AVNRT 24, and ORT 14. Advancement of atrial signal with HRPVC was only observed in ORT (AT 0%, AVNRT 0%, ORT 79%, P < 0.001) and SVT termination was also mostly observed in ORT (AT 0%, AVNRT 4%, ORT 21%, P = 0.33). The overall diagnostic utility of VE was lowest in AT (AT 42%, AVNRT 71%, ORT 83%, P = 0.04), while HRPVC was rarely used in AT. Furthermore, the utilization of maneuvers varied extensively (0% to100%) among the 8 electrophysiologists.ConclusionThere is great variation in the utilization of pacing maneuvers and their utility in ascertaining the mechanism of SVT. Our results support the fact that discerning AT from AVNRT mechanism remains the most challenging task in SVT diagnosis.