Serial snapshot electrocardiograms and continuous 12-lead ST-segment electrocardiographic monitoring for the prediction of intravenous thrombolysis outcome in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

We compared the effectiveness of serial snapshot ECGs (S-ECG) and continuous 12-lead ST-segment ECG monitoring (C-ECG) for the prediction of intravenous thrombolysis outcome in 786 patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. It was found that S-ECG overestimated thrombolysis success over C-ECG by 7.1%. By 1-year patients who were diagnosed as having successful thrombolysis by S-ECG but not by C-ECG were at significantly higher risk of 1-year cardiac death than those who were classified as having successful thrombolysis by both ECG methods, and were at similar risk of 1-year cardiac death than those who were classified as having failed thrombolysis by both ECG methods.