Aims: We sought to evaluate the in-hospital fate of patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) diagnosed already in the prehospital phase by physican equipped ambulances.
Methods: A total of 2326 consecutive STEMI patients were included in PREMIR. For this analysis 218 patients with prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation were excluded.
Results: The median time between symptom onset and 12-lead ECG was 85 min. The median time intervals between the diagnostic 12-lead ECG and prehospital fibrinolysis were 10 min, until inhospital fibrinolysis 52 min and until primar PCI 86min, respectively. Reperfusion therapy with prehospital fibrinolysis (24%), inhospital fibrinolysis (13%) or primary PCI (45%) was performed in 82% of the patients. Inhospital mortality was 6.0% in patients with prehospital fibrinolysis (n = 504), 5.8% in patients with inhospital fibrinolysis (n = 278), 4.5% in patients with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (n = 962) and 16.2% in patients without early reperfusion therapy (n = 377), respectively. In the multivariate propensity score analysis comparing prehospital fibrinolysis and primary PCI we observed no significant difference in the odds for in-hospital mortality (odds ratio: 1.57, 95% CI: 0.94-2.63). The final discharge diagnosis was STEMI in 90% of the patients, in patients with prehospital fibrinolysis 95%.
Conclusions: In patients with STEMI already diagnosed in the prehospital phase the ischemic time is short, accuracy of the diagnosis is high and reperfusion therapy is performed in over 82%. Inhospital mortality was not different between prehospital fibrinolysis and primary PCI.