Table 4.
Association between patient characteristics and decision to obtain an ECG for emergency department patients with chest pain or shortness of breath, northern Tanzania, 2018 (N = 339).
| ECG obtained, n (%) (N = 170) | ECG not obtained, n (%) (N = 169) | OR (95% CI)a | pb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex | 72 (42.4) | 72 (42.6) | 0.99 (0.64, 1.52) | 0.963 |
| Hypertension | 128 (75.3) | 124 (73.4) | 1.11 (0.68, 1.81) | 0.686 |
| Diabetes | 18 (10.6) | 26 (15.4) | 0.65 (0.34, 1.24) | 0.189 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 24 (14.1) | 15 (8.9) | 1.68 (0.85, 3.41) | 0.130 |
| History of tobacco use | 45 (26.5) | 64 (37.9) | 0.59 (0.37, 0.94) | 0.025* |
| Overweight or obese | 84 (49.4) | 72 (42.6) | 1.31 (0.86, 2.02) | 0.209 |
| Personal history of CVD | 9 (5.3) | 9 (5.3) | 0.99 (0.37, 2.64) | 0.990 |
| Family history of CVD | 46 (27.1) | 40 (23.7) | 1.20 (0.73, 1.96) | 0.473 |
| Poor diet | 156 (91.8) | 148 (87.6) | 1.57 (0.77, 3.29) | 0.205 |
| Sedentary lifestyle | 65 (38.2) | 59 (34.9) | 1.15 (0.74, 1.80) | 0.525 |
| Primary complaint chest pain | 70 (41.2) | 52 (30.8) | 1.57 (1.01, 2.47) | 0.046* |
| Anginal symptoms | 159 (93.5) | 155 (91.7) | 1.30 (0.57, 3.04) | 0.523 |
| Secondary or university education | 55 (32.4) | 43 (25.4) | 1.40 (0.87, 2.25) | 0.161 |
| >10% five-year risk of cardiovascular event | 109 (64.1) | 113 (66.9) | 0.89 (0.56, 1.39) | 0.595 |
| ECG obtained, mean (sd) (N = 170) | ECG not obtained, mean (sd) (N = 169) | pc | ||
| Age, years | 56.9 (18.8) | 57.7 (18.7) | 0.698 | |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg | 139.2 (29.5) | 140.1 (26.6) | 0.762 | |
| Duration of symptoms, days | 30.0 (73.4) | 20.6 (31.7) | 0.127 | |
a Odds ratios from univariate analyses calculated from 2 × 2 contingency tables.
b Univariate associations between categorical variables assessed via Pearson’s chi-squared.
c Univariate associations between continuous and categorical variables assessed via Welch’s t-test.
* p < 0.05.