Time Series Variation and Upper Limits of ST Values in Pediatric Electrocardiograms : An Analysis of Automatic Measurements

Abstract

【Objective】To investigate time series variation and upper limits of ST values in pediatric electrocardiograms through automatic measurement for each lead. 【Methods】The subjects were 100 patients who visited the pediatric cardiology outpatient clinic at our hospital from 2004 to 2023. The patients ranged in age from 1 month to 12 years, with examination intervals from 2 to 436 days. ST values were defined as ST-mid. Measurements were taken twice for each patient, and the absolute difference between the two ST values was considered the ST variation. 【Results】No significant correlation was found between ST variation and examination interval in any of the leads. When comparing three age groups （1-11 months, 1-3 years, and 4-12 years）, ST variation was small in all age groups, with the 4-12 years group showing particularly small variation in limb leads and V6 lead （p=0.001 to 0.01）. The upper limit of variation, represented by the 95th percentile value, was less than 100μV in most age groups and leads, indicating sufficiently small variation. 【Conclusion】In pediatric patients, considering the upper limit of ST value variation for each age and lead allows for the assessment of ST abnormalities over time.