creators_name: Maruyama, Mitsunori creators_name: Kobayashi, Yoshinori creators_name: Kodani, Eitaroh creators_name: Hirayama, Yoshiyuki creators_name: Atarashi, Hirotsugu creators_name: Katoh, Takao creators_name: Takano, Teruo editors_name: Singh, Balbir editors_name: Lokhandwala, Yash editors_name: Francis, Johnson editors_name: Gupta, Anup type: journalp datestamp: 2005-04-17 lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:55:57 metadata_visibility: show title: Osborn Waves: History and Significance ispublished: pub subjects: ipej full_text_status: public keywords: Osborn wave, J wave, hypothermia, hypercalcemia, myocardial ischemia, ventricular fibrillation, history, clinical significance abstract: The Osborn wave is a deflection with a dome or hump configuration occurring at the R-ST junction (J point) on the ECG (Fig. 1). In the historical view, different names have been used for this wave in the medical literature, such as “camel-hump sign”, “late delta wave”, “hathook junction”, “hypothermic wave”, “J point wave”, “K wave”, “H wave” and “current of injury”.1 Although there is no definite consensus about terminology of this wave, either “Osborn wave” or “J wave” are the most commonly used names for this wave in the current clinical and experimental cardiology. The Osborn wave can be generally observed in hypothermic patients,1,2,3,4 however, other conditions have been reported to cause Osborn waves, such as hypercalcemia,5 brain injury,6 subarachnoid hemorrhage,7 cardiopulmonary arrest from oversedation,8 vasospastic angina,9 or idiopathic ventricular fibrillation.10,11,12 Our knowledge about the link between the Osborn waves and cardiac arrhythmias remains sparse and the arrhythmogenic potential of the Osborn waves is not fully understood. In this paper, we present a historic review of Osborn waves and discuss their clinical significance in the various clinical settings. date: 2004-01 date_type: published publication: Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal volume: 4 number: 1 publisher: Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Group pagerange: 33-39 refereed: TRUE referencetext: 1. Gussak I, Bjerregaard P, Egan TM, Chaitman BR: ECG phenomenon called the J wave: history, pathophysiology, and clinical significance. J Electrocardiol 1995; 28: 49-58. 2. Thompson R, Rich J, Chmelik F, Nelson W: Evolutionary changes in the electrocardiogram of severe progressive hypothermia. J Electrocardiol 1977; 10: 67-70. 3. Okada M, Nishimura F, Yoshino H, Kimura M, Ogino T: The J wave in accidental hypothermia. J Electrocardiol 1983; 16: 23-28. 4. Eagle K: Osborn waves of hypothermia. N Engl J Med 1994; 10: 680. 5. Sridharan MR, Horan LG: Electrocardiographic J wave of hypercalcemia. Am J Cardiol 1984; 54: 672-673. 6. 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Antzelevitch C, Brugada P, Brugada J, Brugada R, Towbin JA, Nademanee K: Brugada syndrome: 1992-2002: a historical perspective. J Am Coll Cardiol 2003; 41: 1665-1671. 30. Brugada R, Brugada J, Antzelevitch C, Kirsch GE, Potenza D, Towbin JA, Brugada P: Sodium channel blockers identify risk for sudden death in patients with ST-segment elevation and right bundle branch block but structurally normal hearts. Circulation 2000; 101: 510-515. 31. Krishnan SC, Antzelevitch C: Flecainide-induced arrhythmia in canine ventricular epicardium: Phase 2 reentry? Circulation 1993; 87: 562-572. citation: Maruyama, Mitsunori and Kobayashi, Yoshinori and Kodani, Eitaroh and Hirayama, Yoshiyuki and Atarashi, Hirotsugu and Katoh, Takao and Takano, Teruo (2004) Osborn Waves: History and Significance. [Journal (Paginated)] document_url: http://cogprints.org/4238/1/maruyama.htm document_url: http://cogprints.org/4238/2/maruyama.pdf