Computer analysis of intraoperative cardiac rhythms using esophageal and surface leads.

Esophageal ECG lead and computer as arrhythmia monitor were elevated in 6 dogs and 23 patients. In dogs arrhythmias were induced by an epinephrine infusion during halothane anesthesia. The computer identified 1858 irregular beats, a cardiologist 2130. Bigeminy was correctly identified 82% of the time, trigeminy 72%, couplets 29%, and ventricular tachycardia 45%. The false positive rate was .03%. In the operating room the monitor identified an average of 44 abnormal beats per patient. In 5 patients junctional rhythm was correctly identified. This study shows the feasibility of using an esophageal ECG lead for computerized ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmia monitoring in the operating room.