Does helicopter transport delay prehospital transfer for STEMI patients in rural areas? Findings from the CRAC France PCI registry

Aims: The aim of this study was to analyse delays in emergency medical system transfer of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centres according to transport modality in a rural French region. Methods and results: Data from the prospective multicentre CRAC / France PCI registry were analysed for 1911 STEMI patients: 410 transferred by helicopter and 1501 by ground transport. The primary endpoint was the percentage of transfers with first medical contact to primary percutaneous coronary intervention within the 90 minutes recommended in guidelines. The secondary endpoint was time of first medical contact to primary percutaneous coronary intervention. With helicopter transport, time of first medical contact to primary percutaneous coronary intervention in under 90 minutes was less frequently achieved than with ground transport (9.8% vs. 37.2%; odds ratio 5.49; 95% confidence interval 3.90; 7.73; P<0.0001). Differences were greatest for transfers under 50 km (13.7% vs. 44.7%; P<0.0001) and for primary transfers (22.4% vs. 49.6%; P<0.0001). The median time from first medical contact to primary percutaneous coronary intervention and from symptom onset to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (total ischaemic time) were significantly higher in the helicopter transport group than in the ground transport group (respectively, 137 vs. 103 minutes; P<0.0001 and 261 vs. 195 minutes; P<0.0001). There was no significant difference in inhospital mortality between the helicopter and ground transport groups (6.9% vs. 6.6%; P=0.88). Conclusions: Helicopter transport of STEMI patients was five times less effective than ground transport in maintaining the 90-minute first medical contact to primary percutaneous coronary intervention time recommended in guidelines, particularly for transfer distances less than 50 km.