ArticleAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2020
Generalist practitioners' self-rating and competence in electrocardiogram interpretation in South Africa.
Article in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Navigating inhabited institutionalism: A framework for electrocardiogram workshops in teaching hospitals.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2026Article
- Junior doctors' interpretation of the electrocardiogram: a cross-sectional survey in South African hospitals.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2026Article
- Electrocardiogram Interpretation Competency of Primary Health Care Physicians: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Thirty-Day and One-Year All-Cause Mortality of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Johannesburg, South Africa: Insights from the STEMI HOC-1 Prospective Study.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2025Article
- Proficiency of South African intern doctors in recognising ischaemia on an electrocardiogram.Journal of the colleges of medicine of South Africa · 2025Article
- Diagnostic accuracy of the PMcardio smartphone application for artificial intelligence-based interpretation of electrocardiograms in primary care (AMSTELHEART-1).Cardiovascular digital health journal · 2023Article
- Diagnosis and management of arrhythmias in dogs: A cross-sectional online survey among Flemish veterinary practitioners.Veterinary record open · 2022Article
- Assessment of electrocardiogram interpretation competency among healthcare professionals and students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences: a multidisciplinary study.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- Clinically contextualised ECG interpretation: the impact of prior clinical exposure and case vignettes on ECG diagnostic accuracy.BMC medical education · 2021Article
- Profile and management of acute coronary syndromes at primary- and secondary-level healthcare facilities in Cape Town.Cardiovascular journal of AfricaArticle
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2 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundElectrocardiogram (ECG) is the only practical, non-invasive method of recording and analysing cardiac abnormalities. It enables a primary healthcare (PHC) clinician to detect cardiac and non-cardiac abnormalities, some potentially life-threatening. Their early detection could save a patient's life.
aimThe aim of this study was to evaluate the competence of generalist practitioners in ECG interpretation.
settingThis study was conducted at the Annual Refresher Course, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Pretoria.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 93 generalist practitioners, using a self-administered questionnaire containing 20 ECG tracings, commonly encountered in PHC. The tracings were categorised into primary ECG parameters, ECG emergencies and common ECG abnormalities. Competence was determined by the generalist practitioner's number of correctly interpreted ECG tracings. Data associations were computed using the Fisher's exact test. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.
resultsCorrect heart rate calculation was achieved by 14/83 (16.9%), ECG rhythm by 7/83 (8.4%), acute antero-septal myocardial infarction (MI) by 29/83 (34.9%), atrial fibrillation by 19/83 (22.9%) and cute inferior MI by 22/83 (26.5%) generalist practitioners. No correlation was found between the practitioners' number of years in practice and competence in ECG interpretation (p 0.05). The total number of correct answers achieved by all practitioners was 274/1860 (14.7%).
conclusionThe generalist practitioners had poor competency on ECG interpretation regardless of the number of years in practice. Their poor self-rating corresponded with the number of correct answers they provided. There is a need for continuous education in ECG interpretation.
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