Does treatment in a simple, low-cost coronary care unit improve survival in patients with proved myocardial infarction in a small hospital without house staff?
A simple, low-cost coronary care unit in a small hospital without house staff can effectively manage acute myocardial infarction, achieving high survival rates for primary ventricular fibrillation.
Abstract In 300 cases of proved infarction treated in a four-bed coronary unit of simple design and low cost in a small hospital without house staff, the death rate was 18 per cent (55 cases). Only 3 per cent of the deaths were due to arrhythmias. The death rate in "mild" cases was 7 per cent, and that of patients who arrived in the first 12 hours of the illness was 17 per cent. Eighteen of 19 patients with primary ventricular fibrillation survived.
Church et al. (Thu,) studied this question.