Emergency Physician Activation of Cardiac Catheterization for Suspected Heart Attacks
Author Information
Author(s): Kim Soo Hyun, Oh Sang Hoon, Choi Seung Pill, Park Kyu Nam, Kim Young Min, Youn Chun Song
Primary Institution: Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul Korea
Hypothesis
Is the activation of the cardiac catheterization laboratory by emergency physicians appropriate for patients with suspected ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction?
Conclusion
Most CCL activations by emergency physicians were appropriate, with unnecessary activations being relatively rare.
Supporting Evidence
- Emergency department physicians activated the CCL 117 times during the study.
- CCL activation was deemed appropriate 89.8% of the time by cardiologists.
- Only 5.1% of activations were truly unnecessary.
Takeaway
Doctors in the emergency room can quickly call for heart tests when they think someone is having a heart attack, and they usually make the right call.
Methodology
This retrospective cohort study included all patients with emergency physician CCL activations from August 2009 to April 2011, assessing the appropriateness of activations based on ECG criteria and cardiologist reviews.
Potential Biases
Potential biases include the retrospective nature of the study and reliance on cardiologists' interpretations of ECGs.
Limitations
The study was conducted at a single hospital, had a relatively small sample size, and was retrospective, which may introduce biases.
Participant Demographics
The study included a diverse group of patients with a mean age of approximately 63 years, with a majority being male.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website