ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) guidelines recommend screening arriving emergency department (ED) patients for an early ECG in those with symptoms concerning for myocardial ischemia. Process measures target median door‐to‐ECG (D2E) time of 10 minutes. To improve our understanding of ED performance and potential intervention opportunities, this descriptive analysis from HIP Investigator Dr. Brian Patterson explores the utility of considering the proportion of patients beyond timely care target to focus our attention on all those with STEMI receiving their first ECG beyond 10 minutes of ED arrival.
This 3‐year descriptive retrospective cohort study included 676 ED‐diagnosed patients with STEMI from 10 geographically diverse facilities across the United States. The findings suggest sex, race, language, and diabetes are associated with STEMI diagnostic delays. Moving the acquisition of ECGs completed during triage to intake could achieve the D2E≤10 minutes goal for 87.4% of ED patients with STEMI.
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