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Broadening the Differential of Pseudo-Atrioventricular Block
Federica Vernacchia1, Luigi Sciarra2, Sabina Gallina1
1Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
Case Summary:
A 65-year-old man with no known cardiovascular disease and no prior history of syncope presented to the emergency department with fatigue, abdominal pain, and fever and was admitted with a diagnosis of sepsis of abdominal origin. On initial evaluation, he was hemodynamically stable and denied cardiac symptoms. A resting 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) showed conduction abnormalities of uncertain significance, prompting a focused interpretative challenge.
Take-Home Messages:
Transient ECG signal saturation can create pseudo-conduction abnormalities that closely mimic advanced atrioventricular block. Evaluation of internal signal coherence is essential to differentiate true electrophysiologic disorders from acquisition-related artifacts.
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