Prehospital diagnosis in STEMI patients treated by primary PCI: the key to rapid reperfusion

Primary coronary intervention (PCI) for acute myocardial infarction should be performed as quickly as possible, with a door-toballoon time of less then 90 minutes. However, in daily practice this cannot always be achieved. Prehospital diagnosis of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is of major importance in reducing time to treatment, in particular when patients can be transported directly to a centre with interventional capacities.

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the time from prehospital diagnosis of STEMI to balloon inflation and identify factors related to treatment delay in patients directly referred to the catheterisation laboratory of the University Medical Centre of Groningen.

A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to collect data on patients treated with primary PCI after prehospital diagnosis of STEMI.

Median prehospital diagnosis-to-balloon time was 64 minutes for patients directly admitted to the catheterisation laboratory and 75 minutes for patients initially admitted to the coronary care unit. A delay longer than 90 minutes was observed in 18 patients. Higher age was associated with longer delay times (p=0.041). Long delays were not associated with diabetes (p=0.293), time from symptom onset to prehospital diagnosis (p=0.87) or time of day (p=0.09). Initial unavailability of the catheterisation laboratory due to running procedures contributed to longer delay times in ten cases.

Prehospital diagnosis of STEMI and direct referral to a catheterisation laboratory for primary PCI allows a prehospital diagnosis-toballoon time of less than 90 minutes in 82% of patients. Older patients are at risk of longer delays. (Neth Heart J 2008;16:5-9.).