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Previous Volume 341:1270-1274 October 21, 1999 Number 17 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Electrocardiographic artifact can simulate ventricular tachycardia. The literature regarding electrocardiographic artifact is limited to case reports,^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7} proposed classifications,^8,9 and diagnostic criteria.¹⁰ There is little information regarding the clinical implications of the misdiagnosis of artifact as ventricular tachycardia. We describe 12 patients who underwent unnecessary diagnostic or therapeutic interventions as a result of such a misdiagnosis.

Methods

We included in this series patients who were seen in consultation by a cardiac electrophysiologist at our institution between 1995 and 1999 and who underwent a diagnostic procedure or received treatment unnecessarily, solely as a result of the misdiagnosis of artifact as ventricular tachycardia. We . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Results

Characteristics of the Patients

Characteristics of the Artifact

Clinical Consequences of Misdiagnosis

Characteristics of the Physicians

Discussion

Source Information

From the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Knight at the University of Michigan Health System, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., B1F245, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0022, or at bpk@umich.edu.

References

Related Letters:

Electrocardiographic Artifact
Littmann L., Monroe M. H., Smith R. M., Smith R. W., Unice R. M., Chrisman L., Squire A., Langan N., Halperin J., Knight B. P., Morady F.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 2000; 342:590-592, Feb 24, 2000. Correspondence

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