The Role of Pre-Hospital Telecardiology in Reducing The Coronary Reperfusion Time; a Brief Report

Introduction: Telecardiology is defined as using telecommunication for remote treatment of cardiac patients.This study aimed to assess the role of pre-hospital triage via telecardiology on coronary reperfusion time of patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted fromSeptember, ۲۰۱۵ to January, ۲۰۱۸ in five academic referral hospitals, Tehran, Iran. Studied patients were divided into two groups of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) following telecardiology or PCI following emergency department (ED) diagnosis of STEMI and time to reperfusion was compared between them.Results: ۱۲۰۵ patients with the mean age of ۵۸.۹۹ § ۱۲.۳۳ (۱۹-۹۵) years entered the study (۸۲.۷% male). ۸۴۱ (۶۹.۸%) cases were transferred directly to the Cath-Lab following telecardiology and ۳۶۴ (۳۰.۲%) cases were first admitted to the ED. There was no significant difference between the groups regarding mean age (p = ۰.۰۸۲) and gender (p = ۰.۸۸۲) of participants. Symptom-to-device interval time in patients who underwent PCI followingtelecardiology was significantly lower (p < ۰.۰۰۱); however, the difference was not significant in the first medical contact (FMC)-to-device interval time (p = ۰.۲۶۸).Conclusion: It is likely that the use of telecardiology in pre-hospital triage plays an important role in reducing time to PCI for patients with STEMI.

کلیدواژه ها:

Electrocardiography ، Emergency Medical Service ، ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction ، Telemedicine ، Percutaneous ، Coronary Intervention