title: Shorter ischaemic time and improved survival with pre-hospital STEMI diagnosis and direct transfer for primary PCI.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We sought to determine if our regional program for pre-hospital STEMI diagnosis and direct transfer for primary PCI (PPCI) was associated with shorter ischaemic times and improved survival compared with ED diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  STEMI diagnosis was made at the scene by pre-hospital ECG or in local EDs depending on patient presentation. Ambulance ECGs were transmitted to our ED for cath lab activation. Patient variables and outcomes at 12 months were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We treated 782 consecutive patients with PPCI during January 2008-June 2013. Cath lab activation was initiated prior to hospital arrival (pre-hospital) in 24% of cases and by ED in 76% of cases. Median total ischaemic time was 154 min for pre-hospital and 211 minutes for ED patients (p<0.0001). Mortality at 12 months was 7.9% in the ED group compared with 3.7% in the pre-hospital group (p=0.036). On multivariate Cox regression analysis including baseline and procedural variables, pre-hospital activation remained an independent predictor of mortality (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.20-1.0, p=0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pre-hospital diagnosis of STEMI and direct transfer to the cath lab reduced total ischaemic time by 57 minutes and mortality by >50% following PPCI. Further efforts are needed to increase the proportion of STEMI patients treated using this strategy.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Electronic address: ahmad.farshid@act.gov.au.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farshid
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allada
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Jaya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chandrasekhar
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marley
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Darryl
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McGill
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Moyazur
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Ren
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; Centre for Advances in Epidemiology and Information Technology, The Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shadbolt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D062645:Percutaneous Coronary Intervention; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Ambulances; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial reperfusion; Pre-hospital triage; Primary percutaneous coronary intervention; STEMI