Clinical InvestigationAcute Ischemic Heart DiseasePrehospital diagnosis and triage of ST-elevation myocardial infarction by paramedics without advanced care training
Section snippets
Background
Patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) require rapid diagnosis and reperfusion therapy to improve survival. Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been shown to be superior to fibrinolytic therapy when it can be performed in a timely manner.1 Guidelines recommend a target time of 90 to 120 minutes from first medical contact.2., 3. A very effective strategy to reduce the first medical contact to balloon time is to have emergency medical service (EMS) providers
Emergency medical services
In Canada, there are 3 levels of training for paramedics: Primary Care (PCP), Advanced Care (ACP), and Critical Care. The Paramedic Association of Canada has developed National Occupational Competency Profiles that outline the scope of practice for the various paramedic levels in Canada.8
Primary Care Paramedics in the study area (County of Simcoe, Ontario) are trained to provide semiautomated defibrillation,9 acquire and interpret 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs), and administer several
Results
From January 2007 until August 2011, 134 consecutive patients with suspected STEMI were brought directly to the cardiac catheterization laboratory by the PCPs (Figure). Only 1 patient had a complication during transfer that required ACP skills: a patient with rapid atrial flutter and stable blood pressure who underwent synchronized cardioversion on arrival to the catheterization laboratory. One patient had multiple episodes of ventricular fibrillation in the ambulance requiring defibrillation
Discussion
Prehospital diagnosis of STEMI with triage to the closest PCI facility is a well-established strategy for reducing treatment times in patients undergoing primary PCI. However, the level of training required for EMS providers to identify and transfer STEMI patients for primary PCI has not been established. There is considerable variation in the level of training of EMS providers throughout North America, and many regions have few or no paramedics with advanced care training. Our initial
Conclusions
The results of this initial pilot series indicate that hemodynamically stable patients with suspected STEMI can be safely and effectively identified in the prehospital setting and transported directly for primary PCI by paramedics without advanced care training. If supported by further studies, these findings indicate that a strategy of prehospital STEMI diagnosis and triage for primary PCI can be applied in regions that have few or no paramedics with advanced care training.
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Cited by (33)
2019 Canadian Cardiovascular Society/Canadian Association of Interventional Cardiology Guidelines on the Acute Management of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Focused Update on Regionalization and Reperfusion
2019, Canadian Journal of CardiologyCitation Excerpt :ACPs can provide more advanced life support such as synchronized cardioversion, transcutaneous pacing, and advanced airway management, and they can administer advanced cardiac life support medications such as vasopressors, antiarrhythmics, and fibrinolytic therapy. A number of observational studies have shown that complications requiring ACP intervention during prehospital transport of selected STEMI patients are infrequent (< 5%).31,32,34-36 The most commonly observed complications during STEMI patient transport included chest pain, hypotension, tachycardia, and bradycardia.34,37
Improving Electrocardiography Diagnostic Accuracy in Emergency Medical Services Personnel
2019, CJC OpenCitation Excerpt :Given the prehospital activation of extensive hospital resources and patient outcome-associated factors, optimizing CCL activation and diagnosis of STEMI should be a key educational objective. Studies that have examined ECG education in various healthcare provider streams have generally focused on delivery via classroom lectures or handouts, with varying effect.20-23 Online or web-based teaching has been shown to have comparable efficacy with more traditional lecture or workshop-based teaching in regard to ECGs.24-26
The Safety of Bypass to Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Facility by Basic Life Support Providers in Patients with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Prehospital Setting
2018, Journal of Emergency MedicineCitation Excerpt :No patients received transcutaneous pacing. In another study from Ontario, Canada, in which BLS providers directly transported 134 patients for primary PCI with a median transport time of 43 min, the authors report only one (0.7%) adverse event that required an advanced care intervention (15). This study, however, excluded patients who were hemodynamically unstable at the scene or during transport.
Sustained Performance of a “Physicianless” System of Automated Prehospital STEMI Diagnosis and Catheterization Laboratory Activation
2017, Canadian Journal of Cardiology