Epidemiological aspects of patients treated with tele-electrocardiography at the UFPI telehealth center

Abstract

Telemedicine has facilitated access to health services, growing rapidly after the Covid-19 pandemic. Objectives: To evaluate the clinical-demographic profile, remote coverage of the telehealth service, and the electrocardiographic changes identified in the studied population. Methods: The telehealth service of the University Hospital of the Federal University of Piauí (UH-FUP) uses the Health Manager system, which allows receiving exams from primary care services (PCS). From November 2020 to March 2022, data from patients who underwent electrocardiograms (ECG) at PCS were evaluated in the UH-FUP telehealth service. The analyzed variables included age group, sex, distance from the BHU, remote coverage region, and electrocardiographic diagnoses such as ventricular repolarization abnormalities (VRA), old infarction, bundle branch block, ischemia, intraventricular conduction disorder (IVCD), arrhythmias, and ventricular chamber overloads. Results: A total of 27,955 patients (63% female) from 61 units of PCS were evaluated. Of these, 78.3% of the ECGs were normal and 21.7% demonstrated abnormal results. The majority (98.67%) of the ECGs were performed in Teresina, with 1.33% in 8 municipalities up to 633 km from UH-FUP. VRA was the most common alteration (7.96%), followed by IVCD (6.63%). Conclusion: The tele-ECG from HU-UFPI showed broad implementation and reach, even in regions with difficult access to healthcare.