Article in British Journal of General Practice, Jan. 2011

Lewis, M., Parker, D., Weston, C., Bowes, M. (2011).  Screening for atrial fibrillation: sensitivity and specificity of a new methodology. British Journal of General Practice, 61(582), 38-39.  Copyright RCGP.

Abstract:

There is no comprehensive screening programme for atrial Fibrillation (AF) in either the UK or the US.  This paper describes a simple new technology that could contribute to such a universal screening programme. The work analyses the utility of a new instrument that uses plethysmographic analysis of a finger-tip pulse in the detection of AF. Comparative analysis of the instrument with the ‘gold-standard’ diagnostic method was undertaken in 594 patients.  With the instrument set to detect all cases of AF (100% sensitivity), a specificity of 91.9% (8.1% false positives) was obtained. The authors conclude that the instrument described provides an accurate and reliable screening tool for AF, filling a gap in the current process of early detection in the community.