("ECG" OR "EKG") AND "Correct Lead Placement"

A flatline lead I plus P and T inversions in leads II, III, and aVF in a 31-year-old male patient suggested interchange of the arm and leg electrodes bilaterally. Prompt repetition of the ECG with corrected lead placement resulted in a normal ECG and prevented incorrect diagnosis, workup, and treatment.

The clinical utilization of atrial programmed pacemakers is limited by the lead systems available for sensing of atrial activity. The endocardial method of lead placement is burdened by a dislodgement rate of up to 30 per cent. Alternatively, the patient must submit to the risks of a thoracotomy. Thirty-one patients have been treated with a transmediastinally, retrocardially positioned atrial detector electrode. In 20 patients (65 per cent) the detector performed as desired with no postimplant revision. In 11 patients (35 per cent) corrective measures were required primarily to correct lead placement; seven of these were corrected under local anesthesia merely by pulling the catheter...