A community hospital’s effort to expedite treatment for patients with chest pain

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Leslie L Davis, Associate Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine treatment times at a community hospital that does not receive prehospital electrocardiogram (ECG) transmission and to determine the effect of time to first hospital ECG on overall door-to-drug time. Design: Descriptive. Setting: 238-bed Regional Medical Center in Burlington, North Carolina. Sample: One hundred four patients with a final diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction were included in this 16-month study. Results: A median door-to-ECG time of 5 minutes was within the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association recommendation of 10 minutes. Shorter treatment times to obtain the first ECG and initiate thrombolytic therapy were associated with younger patients and those arriving by ambulance. Conclusions: While efficiency in obtaining a first hospital ECG on patients with suspected acute myocardial infarctions was achieved, this did not result in low door-to-drug times. Further streamlining of protocol and the exploration of prehospital initiatives may result in a significant reduction in door-to-drug times. (Heart Lung® 1999;28:402-8)

Additional Information

Publication
Heart and Lung
Language: English
Date: 1999
Keywords
door-to-ECG time, North Carolina Acute Coronary Response ECG Study (NC CARES), acute myocardial infarction, community hospitals

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