Diagnostic and prognostic value of fragmented QRS complex in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction

AIM To investigate the diagnostic and prognostic value of fragmented QRS(fQRS) complex in patients with non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction(NSTEMI). METHODS We analyzed the clinical characteristics and results of laboratory examination, 12-lead electrocardiogram(ECG), cardiac troponin I(cTnI), ultrasound cardiogram(UCG) and coronary angiography(CAG) in 286 patients with confirmed NSTEMI in our hospital from January 2012 to April 2014. According to the results of resting 12-lead ECG within 72 h of hospitalization, 85 patients had fQRS complex, 62 pathologic Q-wave, 103 fQRS complex combined with pathologic Q-wave and 36 with only ST-T changes. We studied the incidence rate, sensitivity of fQRS complex and pathologic Q-wave in these NSTEMI patients. All patients were followed for 1 year to observe the incidence of cardiac events. RESULTS For NSTEMI diagnosis, the sensitivity in fQRS complex was higher than in pathologic Q-wave(65.7% vs. 57.7%, P<0.05). Sensitivity in the parallel test was 87.4%, significantly higher than in fQRS complex or pathologic Q-wave(P<0.01). Cardiac events of fQRS(+) group were significantly higher than those of fQRS(-) group after 1 year follow-up. CONCLUSION fQRS complex is a good diagnostic clue in ECG for NSTEMI and is a reliable indicator for short-term cardiac events in NSTEMI patients.