Cardiac catheterization laboratory activation by social media reduces reperfusion time of patients transferred for primary percutaneous coronary intervention in community hospital

Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) activation by WeChat in community hospitals transfer for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) bypassing emergency department (ED) on time delay in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. Methods: This was a retrospective, cohort study of STEMI patients who were transferred from community hospitals to Luhe Hospital for primary PCI. Patients were divided into two groups: in CCL group, electrocardiogram (ECG) was transmitted through WeChat in the community hospital and the patients were transferred directly to CCL by emergency medical services (EMS) ( n = 43); in control group, patients without ECG transmission were transferred by EMS to ED before CCL arrival ( n = 57). The primary endpoint was median first medical contact (FMC)-to-device (FMC2D) times. The secondary endpoint was door-to-device (D2D) times. Results: The baseline clinical data and angiographic features among the two groups were similar (all P > 0.05. There was no difference in the symptom onset-to-FMC time (median interquartile range [IQR] min, 100.00 [74.50–247.00] vs. 105.00 [70.00–180.00], P > 0.05) between the two groups. Compared to control group, CCL group had shortened FMC2D times (median IQR min, 95.00 [72.60–160.58] vs. 160.79 [124.72–205.50], P < 0.001) and shortened D2D time (median IQR min, 17.18 [13.77–21.15] vs. 49.27 [40.26–64.90], P < 0.001). Achievement of the FMC2D time goal of <120 min rose from 29.82% in the control group to 76.74% in the CCL group ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: CCL activated by WeChat can reduce reperfusion time of STEMI patients who are transferred for PCI from community hospitals.