European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Observational Study
Decision to deploy coronary reperfusion is not affected by the volume of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients managed by prehospital emergency medical teams.
Mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been associated with the volume of activity of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) facilities. This observational study investigated whether the coronary reperfusion-decision rate is associated with the volume of activity in a prehospital emergency setting. ⋯ The decision of coronary reperfusion in a prehospital emergency setting depended on patient characteristics, delay between pain onset and first medical contact, and access to a PCI facility, but not on volume of activity. Promoting fibrinolysis use in underserved areas might help increase the reperfusion-decision rate.
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To assess whether prolonged length of stay in the emergency department was associated with risk of death. ⋯ In this study, prolonged emergency department stay was not associated with increased risk of death.
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To develop a template for uniform reporting of standardized measuring and describing of care provided in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ The suggested template is intended for use in studies carried out in EDs to improve comparability and knowledge translation.