A clinical decision support tool to assist with the interpretation of the 12-lead electrocardiogram

This article reports the design and testing of a novel interactive method, abbreviated to ANALYSE (systemAtic aNALYsiS of Electrocardiography) to assist interpretation of 12-lead electrocardiogram. 15 participants interpreted a total of 150 12-lead electrocardiogram recordings randomly using a standard and this novel (ANALYSE) reporting format. The overall aggregated mean score attained using the standard format was 53% (range = 38–82%, standard deviation = 12). Conversely, the overall aggregated mean score attained using ANALYSE format was 75% (range = 55%–93%, standard deviation = 9). A total of 14/15 participants consistently scored higher when interpreting electrocardiograms using the ANALYSE format (range = 10% -45%). A significant difference between the aggregated marks scored using the ANALYSE format and the standard format was calculated (Wilcoxon Z Score = −3.2374 (df = 14), p < 0.01). This study demonstrates the clinical utility of a novel method (ANALYSE) to assist the learning of electrocardiogram interpretation and its association with enhanced diagnostic performance in novices