Assessment of the competence in electrocardiographic interpretation among Arabic resident doctors at the emergency medicine and internal medicine departments: A multi-center online cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThis study aims to assess the electrocardiographic interpretation abilities of resident doctors at internal medicine and emergency medicine departments in eight Arabic countries.MethodsAn online cross-sectional study was conducted between October 7, 2022 and October 21, 2022 in eight Arabic countries. The questionnaire consisted of two main sections: the first section included sociodemographic information, while the second section contained 12 clinical case questions of the most severe cardiac abnormalities with their electrocardiography (ECG) recordings.ResultsOut of 2,509 responses, 630 were eligible for the data analysis. More than half of the participants were males (52.4%). Internal medicine residents were (n = 530, 84.1%), whereas emergency medicine residents were (n = 100, 15.9%). Almost participants were in their first or second years of residency (79.8%). Only 36.2% of the inquired resident doctors had attended an ECG course. Most participants, 85.6%, recognized the ECG wave order correctly, and 50.5% of the participants scored above 7.5/10 on the ECG interpretation scale. The proportions of participants who were properly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, third-degree heart block, and atrial tachycardia were 71.1, 76.7, and 56.6%, respectively. No statistically significant difference was defined between the internal and emergency medicine residents regarding their knowledge of ECG interpretation (p value = 0.42). However, there was a significant correlation between ECG interpretation and medical residency year (p value < 0.001); the fourth-year resident doctors had the highest scores (mean = 9.24, SD = 1.6). As well, participants in the third and second years of postgraduate medical residency have a probability of adequate knowledge of ECG interpretation more than participants in the first year of residency (OR = 2.1, p value = 0.001) and (OR = 1.88, p value = 0.002), respectively.ConclusionAccording to our research findings, resident doctors in departments of internal medicine and emergency medicine in Arabic nations have adequate ECG interpretation abilities; nevertheless, additional development is required to avoid misconceptions about critical cardiac conditions.

Medical Students' Competency and Confidence in Interpreting Electrocardiograms at King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa

“…Also, ECG self-learning was associated with higher competency in ECG interpretation, but they found no significant difference between students who attended or did not attend regular ECG classes (p=0.99). In a regional study conducted in multiple Arab countries [ 18 ], they documented that postgraduate residents in the third and second years have an increased likelihood of better knowledge of ECG interpretation than participants in the first year of residency. Thus, these accounts indicate that increasing competency levels could be associated with increasing academic year level and attendance to ECG lectures and teaching.…”