Diurnal Variation in Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Objectives To determine whether the outcomes differ during regular hours as compared to off hours in patients with acute myocardial infarction who undergo primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods We conducted a prospective, interventional study of patients who presented to a specialized cardiac care center. Patients who satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. They were divided into two groups so that one group received intervention during regular working hours while the other group received intervention during 'off' hours. The data was collected through a self-constructed questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the internal consistency of the questionnaire, and it was found to be 0.75. The data obtained was analyzed on IBM's Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Results Out of 100 participants, 64 (64%) were males and 36 (36%) were females. The mean age of the participants was 58.58 ± 13.21 years. Most (44%) of the patients were diabetic. Inferior wall myocardial infarcts were more common in our study. Percutaneous intervention during 'off' hours was associated with more adverse outcomes. The differences in gender and angina requiring revascularization were statistically significant (p-value<0.05). Conclusion No significant difference in outcomes was observed in both groups of patients. Metacentric data from different institutes should be gathered for a comprehensive insight on this topic where door-to-balloon times and initiation of catheterization lab procedures are practiced in different ways.