Does EMS field activation of the catheterization laboratory reduce D2B times and improve benchmark compliance in patients with STEMI?
EMS field activation of the catheterization laboratory for STEMI patients significantly improves door-to-balloon times and compliance with the 90-minute treatment benchmark.
In the system studied, EMS field activation of the catheterization laboratory for patients with STEMI is associated with shorter D2B times and better compliance with 90-minute benchmarks than ED activation for either walk-in STEMI patients or STEMI patients arriving by EMS without field activation. Improvements are needed in compliance with the field activation protocol to maximize these benefits. Key words: emergency medical services; emergency medical technicians; electrocardiography; myocardial infarction; heart catheterization.
Cone et al. (Tue,) studied this question.