No abstract

No abstract

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a common and preventable disease, which has great implications on health. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in rural areas. Aim-To study correlation between ECG changes and spirometric parameters in patients with COPD. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective observational study was conducted in our tertiary care centre. We have studied 50 (N= 50) patients diagnosed as COPD admitted in medical ward. Diagnosis of COPD was made on the basis of history, chest x-ray findings and GOLD criteria based on spirometry. We categorised them into Mild (FEV1/FVC < 0.7 and FEV1 is > 80% predicted), Moderate (FEV1/FVC < 0.7 and FEV1 is between 50-80% predicted), Severe (FEV1/FVC < 0.7 and FEV1 between 30-50% of predicted) and Very Severe (FEV1/FVC < 0.7 and FEV1 is < 30% predicted). Mild group included 2 patients, moderate group 14 patients, severe group consisted of 23 patients and very severe group consisted of 11 patients. We studied the electrocardiographic profile of the moderate, severe and very severe group patients, which includes 48 patients. RESULTS The study includes 50 (N= 50) patients diagnosed as COPD in our tertiary care centre. Out of 50 patients, 43 were male and 7 were female patients. The most frequent ECG changes were P-pulmonale and Right Axis Deviation of QRS complex seen in grade II and III severity, which is statistically significant. However, Right Ventricular Hypertrophy (RVH) pattern, RBBB and low voltage complexes were seen less commonly and thus were statistically not significant. More ECG changes were seen in COPD patients with low FEV1/FVC % values (probably due to increase in residual volume with reduction in FEV1/FVC ratio). CONCLUSION Diagnosis of COPD is established on the basis of history and spirometric examination. Electrocardiographic changes are commonly seen as the severity of the COPD increases. The most frequent ECG change observed is P-pulmonale and Right Axis Deviation of QRS complex seen in grade II and III severity. So, ECG can be considered as an alternative parameter when spirometry is not available.