Open Access Emergency Medicine (Dec 2023)

Shortening Door-to-Balloon Time: The Use of Ambulance versus Private Vehicle for Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction

  • Alghamdi AS,
  • Alshibani A,
  • Binhotan M,
  • Alharbi M,
  • Algarni SS,
  • Alzahrani MM,
  • Asiri AN,
  • Alsulami FF,
  • Ayoub K,
  • Alabdali A

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 457 – 463

Abstract

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Abdulrhman Saleh Alghamdi,1,2 Abdullah Alshibani,1,2 Meshary Binhotan,1,2 Meshal Alharbi,1,2 Saleh S Algarni,2,3 Mohammed Musaed Alzahrani,1,2 Abdulmalik Nasser Asiri,1,2 Faisal Faleh Alsulami,1,2 Kamal Ayoub,2,4 Abdullah Alabdali1,2 1Department of Emergency Medical Services, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, 11481, Saudi Arabia; 4Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Abdulrhman Saleh Alghamdi, Emergency Medical Services, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Ext. 95186, Mail Code 3129, P.O. Box 3660, Riyadh, 11481, Saudi Arabia, Tel +96611 429 9999, Email [email protected]: Time is critical when dealing with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients in the Emergency Department (ED), as 90 min is crucial for overall health. Using non-EMS transportation for critical patients, such as patients with acute myocardial infarction, to a hospital might delay the rapid identification of the underlying medical disease and initiating definitive treatment. We aim to evaluate the association between the mode of transportation and the D2B time in patients presenting at the ED with AMI.Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study with patients who presented at ED with AMI and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The participants were patients with confirmed AMI at the ED of King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC) from January 2019 to December 2019.Results: In total, 162 AMI patients were enrolled in the study and divided based on the method of transportation. Less than half (n=65, 40.1%) were transported with an ambulance and 97 (59.9%) patients with a private car. The door-to-balloon (D2B) time for the ambulance group was 93.6± 38.31 minutes, and the private car group was 93.8± 30.88 minutes.Conclusion: There was no statistical significance when comparing the D2B time between the private car group and the ambulance group (P = 0.1870). Finally, ambulance transport significantly shortened the time to first ED physician contact. However, it was not associated with shortened D2B time when compared to private vehicle transport.Keywords: chest pain, acute myocardial infarction, ambulance, door to balloon, emergency department

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