Comparing In-Hospital Outcomes for Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients in High-Volume Hospitals Performing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention vs. Regional General Hospitals

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) transferred to low-volume primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) hospitals (<115/year) in low population density areas experience higher in-hospital mortality rates. This study compared in-hospital outcomes of patients admitted to high-volume primary PCI hospitals (≥115/year) with those for other regional general hospitals. METHODS AND RESULTS: Retrospective analysis was conducted on data obtained from 2,453 patients with AMI admitted to hospitals in Iwate Prefecture (2014-2018). Multivariate analysis revealed that the in-hospital mortality rate of AMI among patients in regional general hospitals was significantly higher than among patients in high-volume hospitals. However, no significant difference in mortality rate was observed among patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary PCI. Although no significant difference was found in the in-hospital mortality rate of patients with Killip class I STEMI, significantly lower in-hospital mortality rates were observed in patients admitted in high-volume hospitals for Killip classes II, III, and IV. CONCLUSIONS: Although in-hospital outcomes for patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI were similar, patients with heart failure or cardiogenic shock exhibited better in-hospital outcomes in high-volume primary PCI hospitals than those in regional general hospitals.