Trial participation leads to a delay in thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction

Objective To determine if there is a significant delay in time to thrombolytic administration for patients participating in clinical trials. Methods A retrospective audit of all patients given a thrombolytic agent for acute myocardial infarction in the Emergency Department of the Gold Coast Hospital in 1995. Results Trial participants (n=17) had a mean door to needle time of 61.9 minutes compared with non trial participants (n=66) whose mean door to needle time was 43.2 minutes. This was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05) and equated to a 43% increase in time to thrombolysis for trial participants. Conclusion Participation in clinical trials leads to a delay in time to thrombolysis for the individual patient which must be weighed against the potential benefit of research trials to the community.