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ECG findings in professional rugby players using international screening recommendations.

McHugh, Clíodhna; Petek, Bradley; Grant, Aubrey J; Gustus, Sarah; van Dyk, Nicol; Hind, Karen; Wilson, Fiona; Wasfy, Meagan

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Authors

Clíodhna McHugh

Bradley Petek

Aubrey J Grant

Sarah Gustus

Nicol van Dyk

Karen Hind

Fiona Wilson

Meagan Wasfy



Abstract

BackgroundWhile World Rugby guidelines do not mandate the inclusion of an electrocardiogram (ECG) for all players, this is required for entry into international rugby competitions. We, therefore, sought to describe sport-specific normative ECG values and evaluate the performance of contemporary athlete ECG guidelines in male and female professional rugby players.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed professional rugby players' ECGs (n=356, male 79%) obtained during preparticipation screening (2010-2022), comparing by sex and playing position (forwards vs backs). ECGs were categorised as normal 'training-related', borderline and abnormal findings, as defined by the 2017 International Recommendations.Results84% of players had one or more normal, 'training-related' findings, with males having a higher prevalence than females (91% vs 60%, pConclusionsThe application of contemporary ECG interpretation criteria resulted in a low positivity rate isolated to male players. These results help inform the logistic feasibility of ECG-inclusive screening, which is already required to enter major tournaments.

Citation

McHugh, C., Petek, B., Grant, A. J., Gustus, S., van Dyk, N., Hind, K., …Wasfy, M. (2024). ECG findings in professional rugby players using international screening recommendations. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 10(1), e001813. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001813

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 20, 2024
Online Publication Date Mar 29, 2024
Publication Date Mar 29, 2024
Deposit Date May 15, 2024
Publicly Available Date May 15, 2024
Journal BMJ open sport & exercise medicine
Electronic ISSN 2055-7647
Publisher BMJ Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Issue 1
Pages e001813
DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001813
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2383758
PMID 38562152

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Copyright Statement
Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.





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