Introduction: Rural sites provide management challenges for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. The impact of emergency medical service (EMS) training and institutional volume experience on STEMI outcomes was examined.
Methods: All STEMI patients transferred to Sanford from 32 sites in rural South Dakota from 2010-2019 were analyzed. "Time to electrocardiogram (EKG)" (TEKG) and "Time from EKG to Thrombolytics" (TThrom) were calculated. Sites were compared based on EMS training (advanced life support (ALS) vs. basic life support (BLS)) and institutional volume experience (less than or equal to five vs. greater than five STEMI).
Results: 514 STEMI patients from 32 sites in South Dakota were analyzed. Average TEKG was 20 (±15) and 14 (±10) minutes for ALS and BLS trained services, respectively (p=0.25). More experienced sites had an average TEKG of 26 (±15) minutes, while sites with ≤ five STEMI patients had an average time of 15 (±13) minutes. TThrom did not differ significantly between sites based on our metrics.
Conclusion: The present study concludes that EMS provider training (BLS vs ALS) and institutional volume experience do not significantly impact patient-related outcomes when treating STEMI patients. This result is possibly attributed to increased educational efforts for rural health care providers in general and the establishment of the South Dakota statewide STEMI Network "Mission: Lifeline" which standardized STEMI care and improved connectivity between remote responders and the larger PCI-capable facilities.
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