ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Pneumologica 1999 March;38(1):11-6

Copyright © 1999 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

A comparison between electrocardiography and echocardiography in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease

Arcidiacono G., Laurenti A., Privitelli L., Conticello A., Gurgone G., Cataldo T., Saccone C., Di Mauro M.

Background. In this study, the correlation between echographic indicators and ECG in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease was evalueted.
Methods. 58 patients, 38 males and 20 females, avarage age 64 ± 4.8 years were selected: 66% with obstructive pathology and 34% with limitative secondary pathology of interstitial fibrosis. A comparison was made of axis and amplitude of the P wave in D2 and V1, axls and duration of the QRS, amplitude of the R waves, S in D1-D2-D3-V1 and V6, voltage of the R wave and the ration R/S in V1 with the echocardiographic indicators RVDd, RAD, DAP and PEP, EDRV, ETE, PAPs. The statistical analysis of the results has been conducted by using the x2 test.
Results. A significative correlation between the RAD and the amplitude of the P in V1 and between the RVDd and the amplitude of the S ub D1 (p<0.05) has been noticed. The 65% of the patients with limitative pathology has a horizontal direction of P compared to the 72% of the patients with obstructive pathology, whom have a vertical direction of P (p<0.001). Similarly, in the 68% of patients with limitative pathology the QRS has an intermediate direction, while the 64% of patients with obstructive pathology has a vertical direction (p<0.001).
Conclusions. The two instrumental methodologies used for the non invasive study of the VD do not match each other and the axial direction of P and QRS directs the differential diagnosis of the BPC.