Impact of transfer for angioplasty and distance on AMI in-hospital mortality

Driving Time to the Nearest Percutaneous Coronary Intervention-Capable Hospital and the Risk of Case Fatality in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction in Beijing

Timely arrival at a hospital capable of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is critical in treating acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We examined the association between driving time to the nearest PCI-capable hospital and case fatality among AMI patients. A total of 142,474 AMI events during 2013-2019 from the Beijing Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance System were included in this cross-sectional study. The driving time from the residential address to the nearest PCI-capable hospital was calculated. Logistic regression was used to estimate the risk of AMI death associated with driving time. In 2019, 54.5% of patients lived within a 15-min drive to a PCI-capable hospital, with a higher proportion in urban than peri-urban areas (71.2% vs. 31.8%, p < 0.001). Compared with patients who had driving times ≤15 min, the adjusted odds ratios (95% CI, p value) for AMI fatality risk associated with driving times 16-30, 31-45, and >45 min were 1.068 (95% CI 1.033-1.104, p < 0.001), 1.189 (95% CI 1.127-1.255, p < 0.001), and 1.436 (95% CI 1.334-1.544, p < 0.001), respectively. Despite the high accessibility to PCI-capable hospitals for AMI patients in Beijing, inequality between urban and peri-urban areas exists. A longer driving time is associated with an elevated AMI fatality risk. These findings may help guide the allocation of health resources.

Hospital volume and outcomes for inpatients with acute myocardial infarction in Shanxi, China: A cross-sectional study

In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the relationship between hospital volume and clinical outcomes for inpatients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in tertiary A hospitals in Shanxi, China (N = 12 931). In-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and total cost were measured. The crude in-hospital mortality rate was 1.69%. Adjusted in-hospital mortality was significantly lower for medium-volume hospitals (odds ratio (OR) = 0.605, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.411-0.900) compared with low-volume hospitals. LOS in medium- and high-volume hospitals were 0.915 (95% CI = 0.880-0.951) and 1.069 (95% CI = 1.041-1.098) days longer than in low-volume hospitals, respectively. The cost of inpatients attending low- and high-volume hospitals (OR = 1.180, 95% CI = 1.140-1.221) was higher than that of medium-volume hospitals (OR = 0.897, 95% CI = 0.868-0.926). These results inform health care policy in countries with strained medical resources.

Do acute myocardial infarction and stroke mortality vary by distance to hospitals in Switzerland? Results from the Swiss National Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

Switzerland has mountains and valleys complicating the access to a hospital and critical care in case of emergencies. Treatment success for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or stroke depends on timely treatment. We examined the relationship between distance to different hospital types and mortality from AMI or stroke in the Swiss National Cohort (SNC) Study.

DESIGN AND SETTING

The SNC is a longitudinal mortality study of the census 2000 population of Switzerland. For 4.5 million Swiss residents not living in a nursing home and older than 30 years in the year 2000, we calculated driving time and straight-line distance from their home to the nearest acute, acute with emergency room, central and university hospital (in total 173 hospitals). On the basis of quintiles, we used multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to estimate HRs of AMI and stroke mortality for driving time distance groups compared to the closest distance group.

RESULTS

Over 8 years, 19 301 AMI and 21 931 stroke deaths occurred. Mean driving time to the nearest acute hospital was 6.5 min (29.7 min to a university hospital). For AMI mortality, driving time to a university hospital showed the strongest association among the four types of hospitals with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.19 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.30) and 1.10 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.20) for men and women aged 65+ years when comparing the highest quintile with the lowest quintile of driving time. For stroke mortality, the association with university hospital driving time was less pronounced than for AMI mortality and did not show a clear incremental pattern with increasing driving time. There was no association with driving time to the nearest hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

The increasing AMI mortality with increasing driving time to the nearest university hospital but not to any nearest hospital reflects a complex interplay of many factors along the care pathway.

Revascularization Treatment of Emergency Patients with Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Switzerland: Results from a Nationwide, Cross-Sectional Study in Switzerland for 2010-2011

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide and in Switzerland. When applied, treatment guidelines for patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) improve the clinical outcome and should eliminate treatment differences by sex and age for patients whose clinical situations are identical. In Switzerland, the rate at which STEMI patients receive revascularization may vary by patient and hospital characteristics.

AIMS

To examine all hospitalizations in Switzerland from 2010-2011 to determine if patient or hospital characteristics affected the rate of revascularization (receiving either a percutaneous coronary intervention or a coronary artery bypass grafting) in acute STEMI patients.

DATA AND METHODS

We used national data sets on hospital stays, and on hospital infrastructure and operating characteristics, for the years 2010 and 2011, to identify all emergency patients admitted with the main diagnosis of acute STEMI. We then calculated the proportion of patients who were treated with revascularization. We used multivariable multilevel Poisson regression to determine if receipt of revascularization varied by patient and hospital characteristics.

RESULTS

Of the 9,696 cases we identified, 71.6% received revascularization. Patients were less likely to receive revascularization if they were female, and 80 years or older. In the multivariable multilevel Poisson regression analysis, there was a trend for small-volume hospitals performing fewer revascularizations but this was not statistically significant while being female (Relative Proportion = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.86 to 0.97) and being older than 80 years was still associated with less frequent revascularization.

CONCLUSION

Female and older patients were less likely to receive revascularization. Further research needs to clarify whether this reflects differential application of treatment guidelines or limitations in this kind of routine data.

Equity of utilisation of cardiovascular care and mental health services in England: a cohort-based cross-sectional study using small-area estimation

Background

A strong policy emphasis on the need to reduce both health inequalities and unmet need in deprived areas has resulted in the substantial redistribution of English NHS funding towards deprived areas. This raises the question of whether or not socioeconomically disadvantaged people continue to be disadvantaged in their access to and utilisation of health care.

Objectives

To generate estimates of the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and common mental health disorders (CMHDs) at a variety of scales, and to make these available for public use via Public Health England (PHE). To compare these estimates with utilisation of NHS services in England to establish whether inequalities of use relative to need at various stages on the health-care pathway are associated with particular sociodemographic or other factors.

Design

Cross-sectional analysis of practice-, primary care trust- and Clinical Commissioning Group-level variations in diagnosis, prescribing and specialist management of CVD and CMHDs relative to the estimated prevalence of those conditions (calculated using small-area estimation).

Results

The utilisation of CVD care appears more equitable than the utilisation of care for CMHDs. In contrast to the reviewed literature, we found little evidence of underutilisation of services by older populations. Indeed, younger populations appear to be less likely to access care for some CVD conditions. Nor did deprivation emerge as a consistent predictor of lower use relative to need for either CVD or CMHDs. Ethnicity is a consistent predictor of variations in use relative to need. Rates of primary management are lower than expected in areas with higher percentages of black populations for diabetes, stroke and CMHDs. Areas with higher Asian populations have higher-than-expected rates of diabetes presentation and prescribing and lower-than-expected rates of secondary care for diabetes. For both sets of conditions, there are pronounced geographical variations in use relative to need. For instance, the North East has relatively high levels of use of cardiac care services and rural (shire) areas have low levels of use relative to need. For CMHDs, there appears to be a pronounced ‘London effect’, with the number of people registered by general practitioners as having depression, or being prescribed antidepressants, being much lower in London than expected. A total of 24 CVD and 41 CMHD prevalence estimates have been provided to PHE and will be publicly available at a range of scales, from lower- and middle-layer super output areas through to Clinical Commissioning Groups and local authorities.

Conclusions

We found little evidence of socioeconomic inequality in use for CVD and CMHDs relative to underlying need, which suggests that the strong targeting of NHS resources to deprived areas may well have addressed longstanding concerns about unmet need. However, ethnicity has emerged as a significant predictor of inequality, and there are large and unexplained geographical variations in use relative to need for both conditions which undermine the principle of equal access to health care for equal needs. The persistence of ethnic variations and the role of systematic factors (such as rurality) in shaping patterns of utilisation deserve further investigation, as does the fact that the models were far better at explaining variation in use of CVD than mental health services.

Funding

The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.

The impact of direct admission to a catheterisation lab/CCU in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction on the delay to reperfusion and early risk of death: results of a systematic review including meta-analysis

Background

For each hour of delay from fist medical contact until reperfusion in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) there is a 10% increase in risk of death and heart failure. The aim of this review is to describe the impact of the direct admission of patients with STEMI to a Catheterisation laboratory (cath lab) as compared with transport to the emergency department (ED) with regard to delays and outcome.

Methods

Databases were searched for from April-June 2012 and updated January 2014: 1) Pubmed; 2) Embase; 3) Cochrane Library; 4) ProQuest Nursing and 5) Allied Health Sources. The search was restricted to studies in English, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian languages.

The intervention was a protocol-based clinical pre-hospital pathway and main outcome measurements were the delay to balloon inflation and hospital mortality.

Results

Median delay from door to balloon was significantly shorter in the intervention group in all 5 studies reported. Difference in median delay varied between 16 minutes and 47 minutes.

In all 7 included studies the time from symptom onset or first medical contact to balloon time was significantly shorter in the intervention group. The difference in median delay varied between 15 minutes and 1 hour and 35 minutes. Only two studies described hospital mortality. When combined the risk of death was reduced by 37%.

Conclusion

An overview of available studies of the impact of a protocol-based pre-hospital clinical pathway with direct admission to a cath lab as compared with the standard transport to the ED in ST-elevation AMI suggests the following. The delay to the start of revascularisation will be reduced. The clinical benefit is not clearly evidence based. However, the documented association between system delay and outcome defends the use of the pathway.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13049-014-0067-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.