A New Method for Taking Precordial ECG Leads in Children

Introduction  The conventional chest electrode available for use in the pediatric age group measures 1.5 cm. in diameter. While the size is comparatively small when used on an adult, it is disproportionately large when applied to an infant. Despite great care in positioning, one is often confronted with the problem of overlapping of the precordial electrode areas. In the older infant or small child, even when such overlapping is absent, the electrode jelly is likely to spread to other precordial sites. This greatly alters the configuration of the electrocardiogram by causing the electrode to pick up signals from a much larger area than is desired.⁴ While this risk can be considerably reduced by careful application of electrode jelly, it continues to present a serious problem because of the small size of the chest. It is extremely difficult for the small patient to remain quiet during the frequent changing of