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Article: ECG Interpretation: What Is Different in Children?
- Article from:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Article date:
- May 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Jannetti Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation usually is taught in courses that focus on adults. For those who work in pediatrics, identifying appropriate parameters for infants and children is important. This article focuses on the differences between an adult and child's ECG, differences in common arrhythmias (also called dysrhythmias), and unique treatment approaches to arrhythmias in children.
Before discussing differences, however, it is important to recognize the similarities in adult and pediatric ECGs. Because the conduction pathways in a child's heart are the same as those in an adult's, the waveforms (P, QRS, T) are labeled in the same fashion, and the timing ...