I S T Here G Ender B Ias in the P Rehospital M Anagement of P Atients With a Cute C Hest P AIn ?

OBJECTIVE: Prior emergency department (ED) and inpatient studies have found that women with coronary artery disease are more frequently misdiagnosed and undertreated compared with men. This study was performed to determine whether there is a gender bias in the prehospital management of patients with acute chest pain. METHODS: This study was performed in a large urban county emergency medical services (EMS) agency with approximately 40,000 patient contacts/year. The study population comprised consecutive patients > or = 45 years old with a chief complaint of atraumatic chest pain. Using chi2 analysis and the unpaired Student's t-test, male and female patient encounters were compared. This study had >80% power (alpha 0.05) to detect a 3% difference between populations. RESULTS: Data from 2,858 consecutive patient encounters were analyzed, with females comprising 1,508 (53%). Females were significantly older than males (67 +/- 13.1 vs. 62.7 +/- 12.3 years, p < 0.001). Male patients were more likely to receive aspirin (42.3% vs. 35.4%, p < 0.001) and 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) (46.8% vs. 39.3%, p < 0.001) compared with female patients. The rates of transport refusal, oxygen, nitroglycerin, and narcotic administration did not differ between populations. CONCLUSION: Although females presenting to this urban EMS system with acute chest pain were older, they received significantly less aspirin and fewer 12-lead ECGs in the field. These results suggest strategies must be developed to ensure that appropriate therapy is provided to women presenting to EMS systems with acute cardiac ischemia.