title: Evaluation of a 'color coding' system for the assessment of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The reduction of delay times as well as the rate of false alarms (FA) have become some of the main points of the different infarction networks. We propose a simple way of classifying patients derived for primary PCI (pPCI) into well-defined simple groups by colors, where we can assess real delays of each clinical presentation, define the FA and, furthermore, establish their immediate and short term prognosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prospective study of STEMI consecutive patients derived for pPCI during 2014. Patients were categorized into one of the 3 predesigned groups [(i) Green: diagnostic-ECG with compatible clinical presentation for pPCI; (ii) Yellow: LBBB, pacemaker rate or non-diagnostic ECG; and (iii) Red: very complex patients], always before performing the angiography in 518 patients. Delay times were highest in the Yellow group, with much longer first medical contact (FMC) to balloon time (median Green 118'; Yellow 163'; Red 130'; p<0.001) mainly due to higher times from the first medical contact to the diagnosis and team activation (median Green 30'; Yellow 70'; Red 39'; p<0.001). In the whole cohort, pPCI was performed in 80.2% of patients, with 11.9% of FA. The Green group had only a 2.5% FA rate, in contrast to the Yellow group where FA were 43.2%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This simple classification differentiates the 3 very clear groups in which delay times and prognosis are very different. This classification allows us to measure, evaluate and compare the performance of each of our pPCI networks with others and within different periods of times.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Nodar
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gómez-Sansano
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Galcerá
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mainar
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pineda
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Pascual
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bordes
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sogorb
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital, Birmingham B18 7QH, England, UK. Electronic address: g.y.h.lip@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Gregory Y H
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Lip
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D059019:Clinical Coding / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D062645:Percutaneous Coronary Intervention / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000072657:ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction / Q000145:classification* / Q000601:surgery
keywords: Acute myocardial infarction; False alarms; Primary PCI; Reperfusion delay; STEMI; STEMI network