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. 2022 Mar 30;11(7):1920.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11071920.

The Telecardiology Revolution: From Emergency Management to Daily Clinical Practice

Silvana De Bonis  1 , Nadia Salerno  2 , Antonio Bisignani  3 , Antonella Verta  4 , Cristina Capristo  4 , Antonio Capristo  4 , Gennaro Sosto  5 , Sabato Sorrentino  2 , Giovanni Bisignani  1
Affiliations

The Telecardiology Revolution: From Emergency Management to Daily Clinical Practice

Silvana De Bonis et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Aims: Telecardiology is one of the most widespread applications of telemedicine. We aimed to report the design and development of a telecardiology system in the sanitary district of Cosenza, one of the largest in Italy, with a complex orography, and healthcare reorganization needs, for the management of the emergency network and daily clinical practice.

Methods: Our telecardiology network connects 8 hospitals, 9 first aid centers, 20 local 118-EMS stations, 1 helicopter station, 8 hospital emergency departments, 59 hospital departments, and 3 catheterization laboratories. All data are centralized on a dedicated server, accessible from any location for real-time assessment. The quality, source, and timing of the electrocardiograms transmitted were evaluated.

Results: From October 2015 to December 2019, a total of 389,970 ECGs were transmitted. The quality of ECGs was optimal in 52%, acceptable in 42%, and poor in 6% of the cases. The number of poor-quality ECGs was only 3% in the last 2 years. Out of the total, 145,097 (37.2%) were transmitted from the emergency departments and 5318 (1.4%) from the 118-EMS. Of interest, a sizable part of the ECG was related to routine clinical practice, comprising 110,556 (28.3%) from the cardiology department and 79,256 (20.3%) from other noncardiovascular departments. Finally, the average reporting time was significantly decreased compared to reporting times without a telecardiology system (5-10 vs. 45-90 min).

Conclusion: Our telecardiology system provides efficient cardiology assistance for all types, settings, and phases of cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: acute coronary syndrome; electrocardiogram; telecardiology; telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ECGs received by telecardiology per year between 2015 and 2019.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of ECGs according to department of origin.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The different paths of the intra-hospital ECG with and without telecardiology.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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