Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
-
Delay to reperfusion in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is detrimental, but can be minimised with prehospital notification by ambulance to the treating hospital. We aimed to assess whether prenotification was associated with improved first medical contact to balloon times (FMC-BT) and whether this resulted in better clinical outcomes. We also aimed to identify factors associated with use of prenotification. ⋯ Differences in clinical characteristics, particularly gender, time of presentation and culprit vessel may influence ambulance prenotification. Ambulance cohorts have high-risk features and worse outcomes compared with self-presenters. Improving system inequality in prehospital STEMI diagnosis is recommended for fastest STEMI treatment.
-
In many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in restricted hospital visiting by relatives. Staff have been forced to deliver unwelcome and bad news over the telephone. There are few training resources around how to do this. ⋯ The opportunity to have written notes before calling and to offer a return call was seen as an opportunity for improving communication. We collated these experiences into a series of phrases found most useful and empathic by the actor and participants. A practical aide- mémoir was created from this learning that could be used to help deliver bad news quickly in the emergency department.
-
Prehospital identification and selection of treatment strategy in patients with suspected non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of prehospital ECG, troponin T (TnT) and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) acquired by paramedics in early identification of NSTEMI. ⋯ Prehospital acquisition of ECG, TnT and interpretable TTE images by paramedics were feasible in most patients with chest pain. Based on these examinations, it was possible to identify the majority of cases with NSTEMI prehospitally and admit the patients directly to a hospital with facilities for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for further treatment.