Prehospital Delay In Patients Research Articles

Prevalence and factors influencing pre-hospital delays in patients with acute stroke

Prevalence and factors influencing pre-hospital delays in patients with acute stroke

Development and validation of a nomogram model for predicting the risk of pre-hospital delay in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a severe cardiovascular disease caused by the blockage of coronary arteries that leads to ischemic necrosis of the myocardium. Timely medical contact is critical for successful AMI treatment, and delays increase the risk of death for patients. Pre-hospital delay time (PDT) is a significant challenge for reducing treatment times, as identifying high-risk patients with AMI remains difficult. This study aims to construct a risk prediction model to identify high-risk patients and develop targeted strategies for effective and prompt care, ultimately reducing PDT and improving treatment outcomes. To construct a nomogram model for forecasting pre-hospital delay (PHD) likelihood in patients with AMI and to assess the precision of the nomogram model in predicting PHD risk. A retrospective cohort design was employed to investigate predictive factors for PHD in patients with AMI diagnosed between January 2022 and September 2022. The study included 252 patients, with 180 randomly assigned to the development group and the remaining 72 to the validation group in a 7:3 ratio. Independent risk factors influencing PHD were identified in the development group, leading to the establishment of a nomogram model for predicting PHD in patients with AMI. The model's predictive performance was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve in both the development and validation groups. Independent risk factors for PHD in patients with AMI included living alone, hyperlipidemia, age, diabetes mellitus, and digestive system diseases (P < 0.05). A nomogram model incorporating these five predictors accurately predicted PHD occurrence. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of 0.787 (95% confidence interval: 0.716-0.858) and 0.770 (95% confidence interval: 0.660-0.879) in the development and validation groups, respectively, demonstrating the model's good discriminatory ability. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test revealed no statistically significant disparity between the anticipated and observed incidence of PHD in both development and validation cohorts (P > 0.05), indicating satisfactory model calibration. The nomogram model, developed with independent risk factors, accurately forecasts PHD likelihood in AMI individuals, enabling efficient identification of PHD risk in these patients.

Are we missing an opportunity? Prehospital delay in patients with acute ischemic stroke and known atrial fibrillation

Introduction and ObjectivesThe follow-up of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) presents an opportunity to alert patients and their families on how to recognize and act in the event of stroke. Our aim was to compare stroke recognition-to-door time and prehospital stroke code activation in patients with known AF (KAF) and AF detected after stroke (AFDAS). MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients receiving acute recanalization treatment for acute ischemic stroke between January 2016 and August 2022, with AF as a potential stroke cause. Patients were divided into KAF and AFDAS, and stroke recognition-to-door time and prehospital stroke code activation were compared. In the KAF subgroup, we assessed whether the use of preadmission anticoagulation was associated with the studied prehospital parameters. ResultsWe included 438 patients, 290 female (66.2%), mean age 79.3±9.4 years. In total, 238 patients had KAF (54.3%) and 200 (45.7%) had AFDAS. Of those with KAF, 114 (48.1%) were pretreated with anticoagulation. Patients with KAF and AFDAS had no differences in stroke recognition-to-door time (74.0 [55.0–101.0] vs. 78.0 [60.0–112.0] min; p=0.097) or prehospital stroke code activation [148 (64.6%) vs. 128 (65.3%); p=0.965]. In the KAF subgroup, preadmission anticoagulation did not influence stroke recognition-to-door time or mode of hospital admission. ConclusionStroke recognition-to-door time and prehospital stroke code activation were similar between patients with known or newly diagnosed AF. Preadmission anticoagulation treatment also did not affect the studied parameters. Our findings highlight a missed opportunity to promote stroke knowledge in patients followed due to AF.

Psychosocial markers of pre-hospital delay in patients with diabetic foot: A cross-sectional survey.

This study aimed to determine the psychosocial markers associated with pre-hospital delay among patients with diabetic foot (DF). This study has a cross-sectional design. The participants completed a questionnaire including pre-hospital time, demographic characteristics, Social Support Rate Scale, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire and Type D Personality Scale-14. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to explore independent associations with pre-hospital delay. Only 1.8% (3/164) of participants arrived at the hospital for medical care in 24 h of symptom onset. Patients with low utilization of social support (p = 0.029), low negative illness perceptions (p = 0.014) and high levels of negative affectivity (p = 0.009) are likely to arrive late at the clinic. Medical staff should pay attention to identifying diabetic patients' Type D personalities and take actions to improve their social support as well as illness perception, so as to reduce the occurrence of hospital delay. Psychosocial factors play a vital role in the delay in seeking medical treatment for patients with DF. Medical staff need to improve patients' illness perception as well as self-management ability through health education. Importantly, key family members provide an emotional and psychological support system for diabetic patients. Therefore, nurses need to work with family members together to give information and psychological support during family visits. Additionally, building and maintaining trust with patients is crucial to encouraging individuals to express their concerns and worries. In this case, nurses may identify patients' negative emotions and conduct timely intervention, so as to achieve favourable outcomes. This study used a convenience sample of 164 participants with DF recruited from the wound clinic of Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital and Yangzhou Hospital of TCM in China.

Healthcare provider perspective on barriers and facilitators in the care of pediatric injury patients at a tertiary hospital in Northern Tanzania: A qualitative study.

Pediatric injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The recovery of injured children in LMICs is often impeded by barriers in accessing and receiving timely and quality care at healthcare facilities. The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers and the facilitators in pediatric injury care at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC), a tertiary zonal referral hospital in Northern Tanzania. In this study, focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted by trained interviewers who were fluent in English and Swahili in order to examine the barriers and facilitators in pediatric injury care. Five FGDs were completed from February 2021 to July 2021. Participants (n = 30) were healthcare providers from the emergency department, burn ward, surgical ward, and pediatric ward. De-identified transcripts were analyzed with team-based, applied thematic analysis using qualitative memo writing and consensus discussions. Our study found barriers that impeded pediatric injury care were: lack of pediatric-specific injury training and care guidelines, lack of appropriate pediatric-specific equipment, staffing shortages, lack of specialist care, and complexity of cases due to pre-hospital delays in patients presenting for care due to cultural and financial barriers. Facilitators that improved pediatric injury care were: team cooperation and commitment, strong priority and triage processes, benefits of a tertiary care facility, and flexibility of healthcare providers to provide specialized care if needed. The data highlights barriers and facilitators that could inform interventions to improve the care of pediatric injury patients in Northern Tanzania such as: increasing specialized provider training in pediatric injury management, the development of pediatric injury care guidelines, and improving access to pediatric-specific technologies and equipment.

The effectiveness of different educational interventions in reducing the prehospital delay of patients with coronary artery disease: a systematic review

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background/Introduction Recognizing symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD) is important and challenging for CAD patients. Failure in detecting the related symptoms may lead to prehospital delay and decelerate the golden time of ischemic reperfusion. Purpose The purpose of the systematic review aims to evaluate types of education programs (through randomized control trial) of their effectiveness on reducing prehospital delay regarding CAD. Method The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was adopted to proceed this review. We searched from Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL and EMBASE using a combination of free text words and Medical Subject Headings guided by the PICO framework. The abstracts and full-text screening were peer-reviewed by two reviewers. Results A total of 722 records were identified through database searching of which 11 randomized controlled trials were finally included into this review (n = 38773). The Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment tool 2.0 was utilized to examine the methodological quality of the included studies. Eight out of 11 studies conducted one by one individualized-educational intervention program (n = 11007); two studies used mass media campaign for the general public education program (n = 24753), and one study used the community-based educational intervention model (n = 3031). Of the three types of education models, the one to one individualized-educational intervention was found to be the most effective model to have reduce prehospital delay time shorter ranged from 30-60 minutes in the experimental groups while comparing to the control groups. Conclusion Individualized-educational program is found to be the most effective intervention to reduce prehospital delay for CAD patients. Health care providers are encouraged to apply one to one educational program in term of reducing prehospital delay for CAD patients both in clinical and community setting. Moreover, family members of high-risk patients are suggested to be included in a step-by-step action plan that eliminates the wait and see approach to reach medical support.

Factors Associated with Prehospital Delay in Patients with Acute Stroke in South India.

Early hospital presentation is critical in the management of acute ischemic stroke. The effectiveness of stroke treatment is highly dependent on the amount of time lapsed between onset of symptoms and treatment. This study was aimed to identify the factors associated with prehospital delay in patients with acute stroke. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Sri Ramachandra University Hospital, India. A total of 210 patients hospitalized in the stroke unit were included. Patients' data were obtained by interviewing the patient and/or accompanying family member and by reviewing their medical records using a standard questionnaire. Associations were determined between prehospital delay (≥4.5 h) and variables of interest by using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. The prehospital delay was observed in 154 patients (73.3%) and the median prehospital delay was 11.30 h. The following are the factors significantly (P < 0.05) attributed for the delay in presenting to the hospital: contextual factors like using public transport (bus), taxi, time of onset of symptoms, 7 pm-3 am; family history of stroke, perceived cognitive and behavioral factors like, wishing or praying for the symptoms to subside on its own, hesitation to travel due to long distance, delay in arranging transport, and arranging money for admission and wasting time by shopping for general practitioners, nursing homes, and hospitals. The presence of stroke symptom, headache, significantly decreased the prehospital delay. Prehospital delay is high in South India and influenced by clinical, contextual, and cognitive/behavioral factors.

In-depth look into urban and rural disparities in prehospital delay in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction and its impact on prognosis: a prospective observational study

ObjectivesIn line with the cardiac fast track, the ‘green pathway for patients with heart attack’ policy in China is implemented to reduce door-to-balloon time in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial...

Factors Responsible for Prehospital Delay in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome in Bangladesh.

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains a cause of high morbidity and mortality among adults, despite advances in treatment. Treatment modality and outcomes of ACS mainly depend on the time yielded since the onset of symptoms. Prehospital delay is the time between the onset of myocardial ischemia/infarction symptoms and arrival at the hospital, where either pharmacological or interventional revascularization is available. This delay remains unacceptably long in many countries worldwide, including Bangladesh. The current study investigates several sociodemographic characteristics as well as clinical, social, and treatment-seeking behaviors, with an aim to uncover the factors responsible for the decision time to get medical help and home-to-hospital delay. Materials and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2019 and June 2020 in 21 district hospitals and 6 medical college hospitals where cardiac care facilities were available. The population selected for this study was patients with ACS who visited the studied hospitals during the study period. Following confirmation of ACS, a semi-structured data sheet was used to collect the patient data and was subsequently analyzed. Results: This study evaluated 678 ACS patients from 30 districts. The majority of the patients were male (81.9%), married (98.2%), rural residents (79.2), middle-aged (40–60 years of age) (55.8%), low-income holders (89.4%), and overweight (56.9%). It was found that 37.5% of the patients received their first medical care after 12 h of first symptom presentation. The study found that the patients’ age, residence, education, and employment status were significant factors associated with prehospital delay. The patients with previous myocardial infarction (MI) and chest pain arrived significantly earlier at the hospital following ACS onset. Location of symptom onset, first medical contact with a private physician, distance from symptom onset location to location of first medical contact, the decision about hospitalization, ignorance of symptoms, and mode of transportation were significantly associated with prehospital delay. Conclusions: Several factors of prehospital delay of the ACS patients in Bangladesh have been described in this study. The findings of this study may help the national health management system identify the factors related to treatment delay in ACS and thus reduce ACS-related morbidity and mortality.

Pre-hospital delay in patients with acute myocardial infarction in China: findings from the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-Acute Coronary Syndrome (CCC-ACS) project.

OBJECTIVETo describe the duration of the pre-hospital delay time and identify factors associated with prolonged pre-hospital delay in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in China.METHODSData were collected from November 2014 to December 2019 as part of the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-Acute Coronary Syndrome (CCC-ACS) project. A total of 33,386 patients with AMI admitted to the index hospitals were included in this study. Two-level logistic regression was conducted to explore the factors associated with the pre-hospital delay and the associations between different pre-hospital delay and in-hospital outcomes.RESULTSOf the 33,386 patients with AMI, 70.7% of patients arrived at hospital ≥ 2 h after symptom onset. Old age, female, rural medical insurance, symptom onset at early dawn, and non-use of an ambulance predicted a prolonged pre-hospital delay (all P < 0.05). Hypertension and heart failure at admission were only significant in predicting a longer delay in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) (all P < 0.05). A pre-hospital delay of ≥ 2 h was associated with an increased risk of mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.09–1.69, P = 0.006] and major adverse cardiovascular events (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.02–1.47, P = 0.033) in patients with STEMI compared with a pre-hospital delay of < 2 h. CONCLUSIONSProlonged pre-hospital delay is associated with adverse in-hospital outcomes in patients with STEMI in China. Our study identifies that patient characteristics, symptom onset time, and type of transportation are associated with pre-hospital delay time, and provides focuses for quality improvement.

Identification and analysis of key risk factors for prehospital delay in patients with stroke

BackgroundAlthough recent advances have been made in the treatment of acute stroke, only a few patients have received reperfusion therapy. Studies on prehospital delay in patients with stroke have revealed a wide range of associated factors in different countries. However, a unified risk management system for stroke remains unavailable. There are no published risk management systems to manage prehospital delay in stroke patients across China. AimThis study aimed to identify key risk factors that affect the prehospital delay risk prediction of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients and develop a crux of recommendations using the identified risk factors. MethodsPrehospital delay predictors were collected through literature and expert interviews. We also developed a risk assessment questionnaire via two rounds of expert inquiry. From October 2017 to July 2019, 447 patients admitted for AIS and 202 relevant medical personnel from the Heilongjiang province of China were recruited. The risk factors were analyzed using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to extract those that significantly impacted prehospital delay. ResultsA total of seven key risk factors were extracted from the 22 factors that were evaluated. Of these factors, five were associated with the patient delay stage and two with the transportation delay stage. ConclusionsA multi-dimensional and whole-process risk management mechanism should be established for AIS patients. These patients should be advised to improve their risk coping ability and relevant departments should formulate complete medical treatment procedures and medical systems to ameliorate prehospital delay effectively.

Pre-hospital delay in patients with ischemic stroke in the Fann Teaching Hospital, Dakar, Senegal in 2020.

Introductionstroke is a cerebrovascular disease. Early reperfusion in neurovascular units can reduce its morbidity and mortality. Even when neurovascular units exist, patients usually arrive late in the emergency department. to the purpose of this study was to determine prehospital delay in patients with acute ischemic stroke and associated factors.Methodswe conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in the neurology department of the Fann University Hospital in Dakar from January 1st to June 30th, 2020. We included patients younger than 80 years seen in the emergency unit for ischemic stroke. The median time to presentation was calculated based on the time of stroke onset and that of arrival at the hospital. Multivariate analysis was used to determine factors associated with prehospital delay.Resultsa total of 56 patients were enrolled, among whom 58.6% arrived at the hospital in less than 3 hours. Of them, 37.5% presented to a level 3 or 4 hospital first. Less than 34% of our patient presented to a level 2-3 hospital in less than 3 hours. Based on bi- and multivariate analysis, being married (OR = 7.2 [CI à 95%: 1.5 - 35.8]), being a female (OR = 5.5 [CI à 95%: 1.5 - 19.8]) and having stroke during week days (OR = 4.3 [CI à 95%: 1.3-13.9]) were associated with prehospital delay.Conclusionmost of our patients arrived late at a level 2 or 3 hospital. Being a married woman increased the risk of late arrival. This study highlights the importance of improving awareness in order to increase the proportion of patients potentially eligible for revascularization.

Pre-Hospital Delay in Patients With Acute Stroke During the Initial Phase of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak.

BackgroundWhen a sudden outbreak of an infectious disease occurs, emergency medical services (EMS) response could be negatively affected. The poor prognosis of acute stroke may be largely attributed to delays in treatment. This study aimed to identify the impact of the sudden outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on EMS response for patients with acute stroke.MethodsThis comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in 25 safety centers in Seoul, Korea. We enrolled patients with acute stroke who were transferred to the emergency department by EMS. The study period was from February–April 2020 and the same period in 2019. Patients were divided into two groups, pre-COVID-19 period and early-COVID-19 period, and previously collected patient data were analyzed. We performed comparative analyses of EMS response and clinical outcomes between the groups.ResultsOf 465 patients, 231 (49.7%) had an acute stroke during the study period. There was no significant difference between clinical characteristics of patients with acute stroke before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. EMS response times increased significantly during the early COVID-19 outbreak. The intensive care unit admission rate and mortality rate increased during the early COVID-19 outbreak.ConclusionIn the initial phase after the sudden COVID-19 outbreak, EMS response times for acute stroke were delayed and the clinical outcomes of patients with acute stroke deteriorated.

Barriers to the Implementation of Primary PCI in the Management of STEMI in Egypt

Introduction: Evidence-based guidelines recommend primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) be the mainstay reperfusion strategy for the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) if it is performed in the proper time window. However, the Egyptian health care system is still struggling to provide such an important service. The aim of the present study, through a quantitative questionnaire, is to explore the current practice of STEMI management in Egypt, and to identify the barriers, opportunities, and potential areas for improvement. Methods and Results: The questionnaire was conducted in Egypt via face-to-face qualitative in-depth interviews with cardiologists from 14 PPCI-capable hospitals and 26 non-PPCI-capable hospitals. Participants were selected in view of their experience and knowledge. The study identified potential barriers to the implementation of PPCI among STEMI patients in Egypt. These barriers included the prehospital patient delay and emergency medical service delay, delay in the emergency department and delay in patient transfer to the CCU, unavailable equipment, catheterization laboratory activation delay, lack of trained interventional cardiologists, lack of regional STEMI networks and hospital policies, and insufficient ICU beds. Conclusion: Limited resources and health care system inadequacies have led to potential barriers that prevent suboptimal implementation of PPCI in Egypt. Efforts from all health care providers should be directed to overcome these identified barriers.

Shortening pre-hospital time delay in patients with acute myocardial infarction using a modelling-based narrative intervention with a virtual heart attack experience: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Prolonged delay in seeking treatment by patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains a significant therapeutic gap. Previous mass-media campaigns or brief educational interventions were largely ineffective in shortening pre-hospital patient delay. The brevity and didactic nature of these interventions are inadequate to address complex decision-making encountered by patients with AMI. Purpose This randomized controlled trial examined the effects of a theory-driven modelling-based narrative intervention on AMI knowledge, care-seeking intention as indicated by attitudes and beliefs regarding care-seeking for AMI, prehospital delay time and use of ambulance among AMI survivors. Methods A total of 285 of patients with history of at least one AMI were randomized 1:1 to modelling-based narrative intervention (n=144) and control with didactic education (n=141). The modelling-based narrative intervention comprised 4 weekly group-based interactive sessions to engage participants in mental rehearsals of the perceptual-cognitive processes in recognizing and responding to AMI symptoms through a virtual heart attack experience, then followed by a booster session one month later The control group received a 4-weekly education on factual information about AMI with traditional didactic education approach. Study endpoints included AMI knowledge, attitudes and belief about care-seeking for AMI to be measured at baseline, (T0), 3 months (T1), 12 months (T2) and 24 months (T3) after the intervention. Prehospital delay time and use of ambulance for an AMI attack were tracked since patients' enrolment until T3 endpoint of the study. Results Generalized estimating equation analysis indicated that the participants in the intervention group had significantly greater improvement in attitudes and beliefs about care seeking for AMI symptoms at all endpoints than those in the control group (Table 1). There were no between-group differences in the change of AMI knowledge score over the baseline and 3- or 12-month endpoints, such difference became significant at 24-month endpoint. A total of 78 participants, including 38 (26.4%) in the intervention group and 40 (28.4%) in the control groups, had experienced AMI symptoms and admitted to an emergency department during the follow-up period. The participants in the intervention group showed significant reduction in prehospital delay time than the control group (p=0.031). There was no between-group difference on use of ambulance (p=0.422) for those participants who had symptom attack during the follow-up period. Conclusion This study demonstrated favorable effects in shortening prehospital time delay and promoting positive attitudes and beliefs regarding care-seeking for AMI symptoms among AMI survivors. A virtual heart attack experience helped support them through a cognitive-perceptual processes in recognizing and interpreting AMI symptoms. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Early Career Scheme, Research Grants Council, Hong Kong

Factors associated with prehospital delay in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Longer ischemia time is known to be related to adverse outcomes in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Delay in time from symptom onset to emergency department (ED) has been studied less. The aim of this study was to define the clinical, transportation and residential factors associated with longer pre-hospital delay in STEMI events. Total 308 successive patients presenting to Poriya Medical Center with STEMI between Feb 2015 and Dec 2017 were retrospectively identified. The final cohort included 266 patients after excluding inpatient STEMI, files missing time of pain onset and patients in cardiac arrest. Clinical and transport data were retrieved from the cardiology department database. Our primary clinical outcome was 1-year all-cause mortality. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to define factors associated with prehospital delay. In the total cohort, the patients' mean age was 61 ± 11 years old, 81% were male, and patients lived 21 ± 12 km from our medical center. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, a stop at the community clinic and diabetes were associated with increased risk of a delay. Longer delays were associated with reduced ejection fraction at discharge, higher rates of readmissions and higher all-cause 1-year mortality. The strongest determinant of prehospital delay in STEMI events was seeking first medical care at a community clinic, which was associated with the worst outcomes. This highlights the importance of education of both patients and primary clinic staff regarding the identification and prioritization of STEMI patients and immediate evacuation by emergency medical service.

Sex Differences in Prehospital Delays in Patients With ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BackgroundWomen with ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction experience delays in reperfusion compared with men with little data on each time component from symptom onset to reperfusion. This study analyzed sex discrepancies in patient delays, prehospital system delays, and hospital delays.Methods and ResultsConsecutive patients with ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction treated with percutaneous coronary intervention across 30 hospitals in the Victorian Cardiac Outcomes Registry (2013–2018) were analyzed. Data from the Ambulance Victoria Data warehouse were used to perform linkage to the Victorian Cardiac Outcomes Registry for all patients transported via emergency medical services (EMS). The primary end point was EMS call‐to‐door time (prehospital system delay). Secondary end points included symptom‐to‐EMS call time (patient delay), door‐to‐device time (hospital delay), 30‐day mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, and major bleeding. End points were analyzed according to sex and adjusted for age, comorbidities, cardiogenic shock, cardiac arrest, and symptom onset time. A total of 6330 (21% women) patients with ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction were transported by EMS. Compared with men, women had longer adjusted geometric mean symptom‐to‐EMS call times (47.0 versus 44.0 minutes; P<0.001), EMS call‐to‐door times (58.1 versus 55.7 minutes; P<0.001), and door‐to‐device times (58.5 versus 54.9 minutes; P=0.006). Compared with men, women had higher 30‐day mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.38; 95% CI, 1.06–1.79; P=0.02) and major bleeding (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.08–2.20; P=0.02).ConclusionsFemale patients with ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction experienced excess delays in patient delays, prehospital system delays, and hospital delays, even after adjustment for confounders. Prehospital system and hospital delays resulted in an adjusted excess delay of 10 minutes compared with men.

Association between Residence Location and Pre-Hospital Delay in Patients with Heart Failure.

Rural residents with heart failure (HF) face more challenges than their urban counterparts in taking action when their symptoms worsen due to limited healthcare resources in rural areas. This may contribute to rural residents’ pre-hospital delay in seeking medical care. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between residence locations and pre-hospital delay among patients with HF. Therefore, this study determined whether living in rural areas is associated with pre-hospital delay in patients with HF. A retrospective electronic medical record review was conducted using the data of patients discharged with worsening HF from an academic medical center. Data on postal codes of the patients’ residences and their experiences before seeking medical care were obtained. Pre-hospital delay was calculated from the onset of HF symptoms to hospital arrival. A multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between residence location and pre-hospital delay. The median pre-hospital delay time of all patients was 72 h (N = 253). About half of the patients did nothing to relieve their symptoms before seeking medical care. Living in urban areas was associated with a shorter pre-hospital delay. Patients with HF waited several days after first experiencing worsening of symptoms before getting admitted to a hospital, which may be related to inappropriate interpretation and responses to the worsening of symptoms. Furthermore, we found that rural residents were more vulnerable to pre-hospital delay than their urban counterparts.

Symptom-to-needle Times in Acute Ischemic Stroke and Its Prehospital Related Factors

Background: Intravenous (IV) recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator (rtPA) (IV-rtPA) is the only FDA-approved pharmacological therapy for treatment in acute ischemic stroke and the administration of IV-rtPA is crucially time-dependent. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate symptom-to-needle time and factors associated with the prehospital delay in patients with acute ischemic stroke referred to Poursina Hospital, a referral hospital in the north of Iran. Materials &amp; Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all patients with acute stroke referred to Poursina Hospital from June to December 2016 were evaluated. The study data were extracted from the patients’ records. SPSS v. 21 was used to analyze the obtained data. The independent samples t-test and the Chi-square test were used to explore the appropriate relation of variables. Results: A total of 322 patients were included. Their mean age was 74.4 years and 55.6% were male. According to findings, only 74 patients (22.98%) were transferred to the hospital via Emergency Medical Service (EMS), most of them (64.86%) arrived at the right time. There is a significant relationship between EMS transfer use and arriving at the hospital at the right time. Overall, 13.9% of patients received IV rtPA, and 75.5% of the patients received rtPA in less than 60 minutes. Among the patients arrived in the golden time, the average times to treatment were as follows: onset-to-door (OTD), 105 min; door-to-admission, 3 min; admission-to-doctor, 7 min; doctor-to-Computed Tomography (CT), 15 min; CT-to-treatment, 26 min; symptom to needle time, 152 min; and door-to-needle time (DNT), 49 min. Conclusion: According to this study, although the two-third of eligible patients were transferred to the hospital at the right time, the rate of using EMS for patient transportation is low.

Pre-Hospital Delay in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke in a Multicenter Stroke Registry: K-PLUS

PurposeThere is scant data related to prehospital delay in cases of acute ischemic stroke from multicenter studies conducted after change of the therapeutic window of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (iv-tPA) administration to within 4.5 h of onset. We investigated factors causing prehospital delay and their associations with clinical outcomes using data from a regional multicenter stroke registry. MethodsData from the multicenter regional stroke registry were analyzed. Patients admitted within 24 h of the last known well time were categorized according to whether their admission was early (≤ 4 h; n = 2350) or delayed (> 4 h; n = 2752). We then compared patients’ backgrounds and outcomes between the two groups. ResultsFive-thousand, one-hundred two patients presented at hospitals within 24 h of onset. On multivariate analysis, atrial fibrillation, higher NIHSS score on admission, anterior circulation stroke, detection of symptoms immediately after onset, and emergency system use were positively associated with early admission, whereas modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score before onset, onset at home, diabetes, current smoking, dementia and symptom detection between 00:00 and 06:00 h were negatively associated. Early admission was associated with mRS scores of 0–2 at discharge independent of backgrounds, stroke severity, and thrombolytic therapy (odds ratio, 1.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.32–1.84). ConclusionsCertain patient factors relating to prehospital delay, such as lack of awareness of onset or non-cardioembolic etiology, are crucial but often inevitable. However, earlier admission was associated mRS scores of 0–2 independent of other factors. This study may help to plan educational activities to general population or public awareness campaigns.