[Esophageal-ECG in the emergency department]

The management of tachycardias depends on their underlying pathophysiology. The key to uncovering this pathophysiology is in finding the temporal relationship between atrial and ventricular activation. The P-waves resulting from atrial activation can however be hard to detect on a traditional EKG in the setting of a tachycardia. Esophageal-EKG can help reveal the P-waves. The patient swallows an electrode, whose position in the esophagus is then adjusted to maximize the signal coming from the left atrium, clearly revealing atrial activity. This article describes the indications and contraindications for esophageal-EKG, as well as how it is performed and interpreted. Esophageal-EKG is of particular diagnostic value in the setting of a regular tachycardia with wide QRS complexes and no obvious signs of atrio-ventricular dissociation. In this setting, the esophageal-EKG can distinguish between ventricular tachycardia and a supraventricular tachycardia with aberrant conduction.