BOSTON, May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicalgorithmics, S.A. (WSE: MDG) will present the results of a large study (n=16,595) evaluating online vs offline ECG monitoring methods to detect paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), examining the relationship between optimal monitoring duration and diagnostic yield. The study showed diagnostic yield was significantly higher with the PocketECG online monitoring system than with fixed 24 and 48-hour holter and multi-day patch methods. "Monitoring Duration Vs Diagnostic Yield in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: Is Online Monitoring Better than Offline? (Abstract #9300) will be presented at 9:30 a.m. on May 10 at the Heart Rhythm Society Annual Scientific Sessions in Boston.

"Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is an arrhythmia that is often difficult to detect because of its episodic nature but presents real health risks to patients," said Marek Dzuibinski, PhD, lead author and inventor of the PocketECG mobile arrhythmia monitoring solution. "This large-scale study demonstrated that the ability to shorten or extend monitoring duration based on the ongoing results transmitted by online ECG monitoring can improve diagnostic yield over fixed offline methods."

The study analyzed 16,595 cardiac telemetry reports developed by Medi-Lynx Cardiac Monitoring between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2016 using the PocketECG online monitoring system, a leading arrhythmia monitoring system that transmits full disclosure ECG signal for up to 30 days. Continuous and fully labeled recordings, lasting between 1 and 30 days (mean duration: 18.1 ± 9.9 days), were captured with PocketECG and used to determine the monitoring duration required to detect the first AF episode for various AF burdens (AFBs). The study then evaluated the impact of monitoring duration on diagnostic yield (DY) in patients with PAF (for AFB ≤ 1% and AFB ≤ 10%) and analyzed the difference in DY between the online method (up to 30 days) and simulated offline methods (24 and 48 hours Holter and multiday patch).
Study Results

For AF burden ≤ 1 %, online monitoring with PocketECG showed:
- DY 6 times higher than the first 24h of Holter monitoring
- DY 3.5 times higher than the first 48h of Holter monitoring
- DY higher by 36 % than the first 11 days with the offline patch
- DY higher by 14 % than the first 18 days with the offline patch

For AF burden ≤ 10 %, the online method showed:
- DY 4 times higher than the first 24h of Holter monitoring
- DY 2.5 times higher than the first 48h of Holter monitoring

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