Detection of ventricular ectopy by a novel miniature electrocardiogram recorder

Background: The ability of a miniaturized, skin-attached, 3-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) recorder prototype to detect ventricular ectopic beats (VEBs) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) was compared with that of standard Holter ECG. Methods: Concurrent 15-hour ECG recordings were made in 143 patients using an experimental device provided by Philips Healthcare (Seattle, WA) and a commercially available Holter recorder. In a consensus review process, 3 physicians (M.L., A.J., and A.G.), blinded for the recording device, analyzed 1804 seven-second strips for total number of VEBs, total number of their QRS configurations, and presence of VF. Agreement between the experimental and standard devices was calculated using Spearman correlation coefficients. Results: There was 100% agreement regarding VF recognition. Spearman correlation coefficients were 0.98 (P <.001) for the total number of VEBs and 0.91 (P <.001) for the total number of QRS configurations. Conclusions: The accuracy of the experimental miniaturized ECG recorder for detecting ventricular activity was found to be high. This finding could be of clinical importance