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Measurement of the Electromechanical Window to Improve the Diagnosis of Congenital Long QT Syndrome

Measurement of the Electromechanical Window to Improve the Diagnosis of Congenital Long QT Syndrome

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04328376
Acronym
FEMQT
Enrollment
224
Registered
2020-03-31
Start date
2020-08-28
Completion date
2024-04-23
Last updated
2025-06-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Long QT Syndrome

Keywords

Long QT syndrome, Electromechanical window, Phonocardiography

Brief summary

The goal of this research is to prospectively evaluate the performance of the electromechanical window according to a phonographic method, as a mean of diagnosis of long QT syndrome, and to compare its performance with routine tests used.

Detailed description

Familial long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a hereditary cardiac disorder in which most affected family members have delayed ventricular repolarization manifest on the electrocardiogram (ECG) as QT prolongation. This disease is associated with an increased propensity to palpitations, syncope, polymorphous ventricular tachycardia and sudden arrhythmic death. The diagnosis relies mostly on resting ECG findings and on genetic testing. In clinical practice however, this diagnosis is complicated by 2 main reasons: 1) a significant overlap in ECG findings between healthy and diseased individuals and 2) a frequent identification of genetic variants of unknown significance. Recent studies have suggested that echocardiographic measurement of the electromechanical window (EMW - the delay between the end of mechanical contraction and electrical activation of the heart) has better performance in the diagnosis of LQTS. The echocardiographic technique is however too complicated for routine clinical use. Preliminary work conducted at the University Hospital of Bordeaux and at the University Hospital of Reunion Island has demonstrated that a phonocardiographic approach leads to similar results with an improved feasibility and a good reproducibility.

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TESTECG coupled to phonocardiography

A standard ECG is recorded along with a phonocardiographic recording. The phonocardiographic recording is obtained by using a specific electronic stethoscope plugged into the auxiliary port of the ECG machine. The recording takes less than 30 seconds. The two recording methods are concomitant. QT interval is measured on the ECG recording, EMW is measured with ECG coupled to phonocardiography.

Sponsors

University Hospital, Bordeaux
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
12 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Propositus patients with genetically proven LQTS and their relatives, * Patients of both sexes aged 12 and over, * Free, informed and written consent of the patient and the two holders of parental authority for minors.

Exclusion criteria

* Inability to consent, * Person deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision, * Majors subject to a legal protection measure, * Person participating in another research including an exclusion period still in progress, * Severely impaired physical and / or psychological health, which, according to the investigator, may affect the participant's compliance with the study.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Negative predictive value (NPV) obtained by the two methods of diagnosisDay 1The NPV is measured in percentage. The NPV of LQTS diagnosis obtained by phonocardiographic method (measurement of the EMW) and the NPV obtained by standard ECG method (QT measurement prolongation) will be compared.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Values of sensitivity obtained by the two methods of diagnosisDay 1Value of sensitivity is measured in percentage. The values of sensitivity of EMW and standard ECG will be compared.
Values of specificity obtained by the two methods of diagnosisDay 1Value of specificity is measured in percentage. The values of specificity of EMW and standard ECG will be compared.
Positive predictive values obtained by the two methods of diagnosisDay 1Positive predictive value is measured in percentage. Positive predictive values of EMW and standard ECG will be compared.
Area Under the Curves (AUC) obtained by the two methods of diagnosisDay 1The AUC obtained by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses is measured by a value between 0 and 1. The AUC obtained by ROC of EMW and standard ECG will be compared.

Countries

France

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026