Assessment of Transportation by Air for Patients with Acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction from Non-PCI Centers

The aim of this study was to assess the delays that can potentially occur in the emergency transfer of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centers. We conducted a retrospective study using the medical reports pertaining to 97 patients who presented to the Emergency Department of the Emergency County Hospital of Galati during the year of 2018 with the diagnosis of STEMI and meeting eligibility criteria for PCI, thus warranting transfer to a hospital with PCI facilities. The pick-up time of patients diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction from the emergency department by the transfer crew is significantly shorter (p < 0.05) than those transferred by air, regardless of the PCI center to which the transfer was performed, Iasi or Bucharest, when compared to the time required to process the patients transferred by land to the same PCI centers. The results of the study shows that the helicopter use for transferring acute myocardial infarction patients to a PCI center must be considered, given the distance between non-PCI and PCI centers is over 200 km.