[Role of emergency departments in acute myocardial infarction care. EVICURE study]

Rev Esp Cardiol. 2002 Oct;55(10):1098-100. doi: 10.1016/s0300-8932(02)76763-8.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

No published information is available about myocardial infarction management in Spanish emergency departments. The EVICURE is a prospective, multicenter, observational study involving 35 hospitals that for a 3-week period collected all the cases of patients requiring care in which the final diagnosis of the cause of symptoms was ischemic heart disease. The study included 2,216 patients, of which 600 (27.1%) with acute myocardial infarction formed the study population. Fifteen patients died in the emergency department (2.5%) and 80 (13.3%) diagnosed as myocardial infarction were admitted to the ward instead of the coronary care unit. The median time before patients were admitted to the coronary care unit was 32 minutes versus a median time of 111 minutes for all patients. Before leaving the emergency room, 461 patients (76.5%) received aspirin and 93 (15.5%) underwent fibrinolysis. We concluded that there is room for improvement in light of current standards of care.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Angina, Unstable / diagnosis
  • Aspirin / therapeutic use
  • Coronary Care Units
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Emergency Service, Hospital*
  • Female
  • Fibrinolytic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocardial Infarction / diagnosis
  • Myocardial Infarction / drug therapy
  • Myocardial Infarction / mortality
  • Myocardial Infarction / therapy*
  • Patient Admission
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Prospective Studies
  • Spain
  • Thrombolytic Therapy
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Fibrinolytic Agents
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors
  • Aspirin