The utility of the triage electrocardiogram for the detection of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

This retrospective study of 538 triage ECG's performed over an 8 day period identified no STEMIs and 16 NSTEMIs. A very large number of ECGs were done at triage overall and included patients who do not meet our own hospital criteria. Given the extremely low yield and high associated charges, current guidelines for triage ECG for identifying a possible STEMI should be reviewed.