The General Public Awareness of Emergency Conditions and the Services Provided by Emergency Medical Services.

Objective: Considering the growing use of emergency medical services (EMS), we evaluated the level of public awareness of emergency situations in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2021 to January 2023 on Iranian residents in Tehran, who were older than 18 years old. The participants were directed to a URL for an online survey link and asked to select their preferred options for the predetermined scenarios. We divided the participants into three groups: abuse, misuse, and non-use. At least 12 correct answers were required to qualify as acceptable knowledge and practice responses (KP score). Then, the relationship between participants' baseline characteristics and their level of awareness was investigated. Results: Totally, 3864 people participated in the study, of whom 50.5% were men. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 90 years old, with a mean age of 40.01±11.30 years. In general, the rate of abuse, misuse, and not-use in at least one scenario was 74.5%, 64%, and 70.4%, respectively. The results of the multivariable regression analysis indicated that female sex (OR=1.29), a higher education level (OR=3.36), a higher income level (OR=1.64), and Turkish ethnicity (OR=1.20) were significantly associated with the correct KP score. Conclusion: The degree of inappropriate utilization of EMS services in Iran was significant. We found that the proper knowledge regarding the appropriate use of EMS was significantly associated with the participant's level of education, academic field, job, and income.

Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Air Emergency Versus Ground Emergency Medical Services Regarding the Patient's Transportation and Treatment in Selected Hospital.

Background: The prehospital emergency system is the first initiator of medical care as an alternative to hospitals and health care services that helps patients and injured people in critical situations and accidents. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of air ambulance versus ground ambulance regarding the patient's transportation and treatment. Methods: In this cost-effectiveness analysis study, 300 patients who were transferred to the Shohadaye HaftomTir hospital by air ambulance and 300 patients transferred by ground ambulance during the study period were selected in 2021-2022. This study examined the costs from the society's perspective. After drawing the decision tree model in TreeAge software, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated; and to evaluate the strength of the analysis results, one-way and two-way sensitivity analyses were done on all costs and consequence parameters. Results: The effectiveness rate in the ground ambulance group and in the air ambulance group was 0.42591 and 0.5566, respectively, and the total cost of transportation and treatment by ambulance in these patients was $412.88 and for patients transported and treated by air ambulance was $11898.05. Therefore, air ambulance costs more and is more effective than ground ambulance, and the amount of incremental cost and effectiveness of air ambulance compared with ground ambulance was $11485.17 and 0.130773 units, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of the 2 strategies was 87825.28, and the cost-effectiveness threshold was $7200. To determine the strength of the study results, one-way and two-way sensitivity analyses were done and the results of the cost-effectiveness analysis was not changed. Conclusion: Our study showed that ground ambulance is more cost-effective than air ambulance and the most important reason is that the total cost of air ambulance is 26 times more than ground ambulance, however, it is more effective than ground ambulance.

Persistent/Late-Onset Complications of COVID-19 in General Population: A Cross-Sectional Study in Tehran, Iran.

Background: After recovery from acute phase of the COVID-19, some patients suffer from persistent/late-onset complications. The main objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of such complications in a large scale of COVID-19 patients in Tehran, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, those patients who called Tehran emergency medical services center and were visited by the emergency medical technicians from 20 March 2020 until 21 September 2020 and diagnosed as a confirmed COVID-19 case were enrolled. The minimum required sample size was estimated 385 cases, and they were selected randomly. The patients were interviewed by phone at least 4 weeks since initiation of their symptoms. Using a pre-prepared checklist, made by an expert panel who were involved in management of COVID-19 patients, data were collected on the types and duration of the complications, clinical information, and factors which could interfere with developing the complications. All analyses were performed using STATA 16 software. The association of the prevalence of each complication with independent factor was assessed using Chi-square test (or Fisher's exact test) for categorical variable, and the mean difference of numerical variables in the two groups (with and without complication) was assessed using independent t-test. Statistical significance was accepted at P value<0.05. Results: Four-hundred forty-seven patients participated in the study. Among our total population, 345 (77.2%) patients experienced at least one of the persistent/late-onset complications. Cardiopulmonary and then skin-related symptom categories were reported in 179 (40.0%) and 173 (38.7%) patients, respectively, and were the most prevalent persistent/late-onset complications. The associations of long term persistent/late-onset complications with older ages (P=0.04), female (P<0.001), psychological stress (P=0.01), and inadequate rest after illness (P<0.001) were significant. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that a significant number of patients will experience persistent/late-onset complications, both physically and mentally, after recovering from acute phase of COVID-19. Thus, physicians should have adequate resources and support to care for the patients to help them cope with the condition.

Comparing the prehospital NEWS with in-hospital ESI in predicting 30-day severe outcomes in emergency patients.

BACKGROUND: In Iran, the emergency departments (EDs) have largely adopted the emergency severity index (ESI) to prioritize the emergency patients, however emergency medical services (EMS) mainly triage the patients based on the paramedics' gestalt. The National Early Warning Score (NEWS) is a recommended prehospital triage in the UK. We aimed to compare prehospital NEWS and ED ESI for predicting severe outcomes in emergency patients. METHODS: An observational study was conducted in a university-affiliated ED between January and April 2021. Adult patients who arrived in the ED by EMS were included. EMS providers calculated the patients' NEWS upon arriving on the scene using an Android NEWS application. In the ED, triage nurses utilized the ESI algorithm to prioritize patients with higher clinical risk. Then, Research nurses recorded patients' 30-day severe outcomes (death or ICU admission). Finally, The prognostic properties of ESI and NEWS were evaluated. RESULTS: One thousand forty-eight cases were included in the final analysis, of which 29 (2.7%) patients experienced severe outcomes. The difference between the prehospital NEWS and ED ESI in predicting severe outcomes was not statistically significant (AUC = 0.825, 95% CI: 0.74-0.91 and 0.897, 95% CI, 0.83-0.95, for prehospital NEWS and ESI, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that prehospital NEWS compares favorably with ED ESI in predicting 30-day severe outcomes in emergency patients.

Changes in COVID-19 IgM and IgG antibodies in emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

INTRODUCTION: Serologic testing can provide a safe and fast approach for assessing SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. These tests can be utilized as a complementary method in diagnosis and patients' follow-up, and can also be helpful in epidemiological studies. This study aimed to describe temporal changes in the incidence of COVID-19 IgM and IgG antibodies in emergency medical technicians (EMTs) within a specified time period. METHODS: All EMTs working for Tehran Emergency Medical Service (EMS) center during May to September 2020 were eligible for this study. Those EMTs who were suspected/probable/confirmed cases of COVID-19, based on WHO defined criteria and were willing to participate, entered the study. The EMTs underwent serology testing four weeks after the occurrence of exposure (in suspected cases) or onset of their symptoms (in probable/confirmed cases). Cases were further confirmed by RT-PCR and/or lung CT, and antibody testing was performed for the second and third time with 12-week intervals. Finger-stick blood sampling was utilized for the specimen collection in three different phases. Samples were then analyzed by a commercial immunochromatography-based kit for qualitative measurement of serum IgM and IgG antibodies against the COVID-19 S-protein antigen. RESULTS: Two hundred eighty-four participants met the inclusion criteria; their mean age was 35.9 (SD = 7.6) years and consisted of 244 (85.9%) males. COVID-19 was confirmed in 169 out of 284 participants. Subsequently, 142 and 122 participants were included in phases 2 and 3 of the study, respectively. The number of seronegative patients exceeded seropositive ones in all three phases. At baseline, 162 (57%) patients were seronegative, 27 (9.5%) were only positive for IgG, 3 (1.1%) were only positive for IgM, and 92 (32.4%) were positive for both antibodies; Seventy-eight (54.9%) were seronegative, and 31 (21.8%) were positive for both antibodies in the second phase; These values were 85 (69.6%) and 8 (6.6%) for the third phase, respectively. Among the people who were positive IgG in the first phase (80 people), 56.3% were still positive in the second phase and 27.5% in both subsequent phases. CONCLUSION: The results of our study show that there is a significant reduction in COVID-19 antibody seropositivity over time.

Characteristics of Emergency Medical Service Missions in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest and Death Cases in the Periods of Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Some studies in countries affected by the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have shown that the missions of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rate of death and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has been increased due to the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the process of EMS missions, death, and OHCA. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in Tehran, Iran. All conducted missions in the first six months of the three consecutive solar years of March 21 until September 22 of 2018-2020, which were registered in the registry bank of the Tehran EMS center, were assessed and compared. Based on the opinion of experts, the technician's on-scene diagnoses were categorized into 14 groups, and then death and OHCA cases were compared. RESULTS: In this study, the data of 1,050,376 missions performed in three study periods were analyzed. In general, the number of missions in 2020 was 17.83% fewer than that of 2019 (P < .001); however, the number of missions in 2019 was 30.33% more than that of 2018. On the other hand, the missions of respiratory problems, cardiopulmonary arrest, infectious diseases, and poisoning were increased in 2020 compared to that of 2019. The raw number of OHCA and death cases respectively in 2018, 2019, and 2020 were 25.0, 22.7, and 28.6 cases per 1,000 missions. Of all patients who died in 2020, 4.9% were probable/confirmed COVID-19 cases. The history of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory disease in patients in 2020 was more frequent than that of the other two years. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the number of missions in the Tehran EMS in 2020 were decreased compared to that of 2019, however the number of missions in 2019 was more than that of 2018. Respiratory problems, infectious diseases, poisoning, death, and OHCA were increased compared to the previous two years and cardiovascular complaints, neurological problems, and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) in 2020 were fewer than that of the other two years.

The Possible Factors Correlated with The Higher Risk of Getting Infected by COVID-19 in Emergency Medical Technicians; A Case-Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the possible factors associated with increasing risk of COVID-19 among EMTs. METHODS: This study was a case-control study conducted in Tehran, Iran. Case group was consisted of confirmed COVID-19 EMTs based on the results of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and/or lung computed tomography scan. Healthy EMTs were randomly selected as control group. Patients were asked to fill out a checklist including demographic data, data related to the work situation (such as number of missions and type of mask and cloth) and PPE precautions. RESULTS: Sixty-eight patients and 148 healthy persons took part in this study as case and control group, respectively. Having two EMTs involved directly in taking care of patients (p<0.001) and working with a confirmed case teammate (p<0.001), considering the precautions such as seal check after wearing the mask (p=0.015), covering the hair with a medical hat (p<0.001), not using personal items despite protective clothing (p<0.001), and avoiding contact with the outer surface of clothing while removing (p<0.001) had significant difference in two groups. CONCLUSION: We found that the type and method of use of PPE were correlated with the increasing risk of COVID-19 in EMTs. Also, we found that when two EMTs were involved directly in taking care of the patients, and those who worked with a confirmed case teammate, more frequently affected.

The Geographical Distribution of Probable COVID-19 Patients Transferred by Tehran Emergency Medical Services; a Cross Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Mapping of COVID-19 infection in the city can help us know more about how the disease is distributed and spread. This study was conducted to investigate the geographical distribution of probable COVID-19 patients who were transferred to destination hospitals by emergency medical services (EMS) in the first wave of the epidemic, in Tehran, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed based on recorded missions during the first 3-month period of the pandemic in Tehran, Iran. All probable cases of COVID-19 who were transferred to the hospitals following contact with Tehran EMS during the study period were enrolled. Arc-GIS software was utilized to draw the distribution map of the contact places of the cases. RESULTS: In this study, the data of 4018 patients were analyzed (60.9% male). The mean age of the patients was 54.1 ± 20.7 years; and the mean age of the patients had increased with time during the studied 3 months (p = 0.003). The average incidence rate of this disease in Tehran during the study period was 4.6 per 10,000 population. Generally, the lowest and highest raw frequencies of Tehran COVID-19 contamination were seen in municipal districts 21 and 4, respectively. The raw frequency of cases during the 3-month study period also showed that the highest number of cases in Tehran occurred in municipal districts 5 and 4, respectively. CONCLUSION: In the present study, using geographic information systems (GIS), geographical distribution map of COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran, during the first 3 months of the pandemic was drawn.

Antibody Rapid Test Results in Emergency Medical Services Personnel during COVID-19 Pandemic; a Cross Sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Like other infectious diseases, it is expected that COVID-19 will mostly end with the development of neutralizing antibody immunity. This study aimed to evaluate the value of COVID-19 antibody rapid test assessment in emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran, Iran from 20th March until 20th May 2020. The results of chest computed tomography (CT) scan, and antibody rapid test were compared in EMS personnel with confirmed COVID-19, as well as symptomatic and asymptomatic ones who had exposure to a probable/confirmed COVID-19 teammate. In symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals who were only IgM-positive, chest CT scan or RT-PCR was recommended. RESULTS: A total of 243 EMS personnel with the mean age of 36.14±8.70 (range 21 to 59) years took part in this study (87.7% were males). Most of the participants (73.3%) had history of exposure. One hundred sixty-three EMS personnel were tested using either RT-PCR test or chest CT-scan or both, and 78 (47.9%) of them had at least one positive result. Among the participants who had undergone chest CT-scan and/or RT-PCR test (n=163), 78 had positive chest CT-scan and/or RT-PCR test; of these, 18 individuals had negative results for IgM and IgG. The rate of positive IgM and IgG in participants with positive chest CT-scan was 1.6 or 1.3 times more than those with negative chest CT-scan, respectively (p < 0.05). The percentage of positive results for both IgM and IgG in participants having positive RT-PCR test was 1.7 times more than those having negative RT-PCR test (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Rapid antibody test could help in diagnosis of COVID-19 in asymptomatic or symptomatic EMS personnel who did not undergo RT-PCR test or the test was reported as negative. However, its sensitivity could be enhanced through use along with other diagnostic methods.

How the COVID-19 Epidemic Affected Prehospital Emergency Medical Services in Tehran, Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has substantially impacted the healthcare delivery system in Tehran, Iran. The country's first confirmed positive test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was on February 18, 2020. Since then, the number of cases has steadily increased in Iran and worldwide. Emergency medical services (EMS) quickly adapted its operations to accommodate a greater number of patients, and it worked to decrease the risk of COVID-19 spread among EMS personnel, given the disease's high transmissibility. METHODS: We evaluated the chief complaint as well as the pattern and number of EMS calls and dispatches during the 28-day intervals before and after the February 18, 2020, COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. RESULTS: EMS calls increased from 355,241 in the pre-outbreak period to 1,589,346 in the post-outbreak period, a 347% increase (p<0.001). EMS dispatches rose more modestly from 82,282 to 99,926, a 21% increase (p<0.001). The average time on telephone hold decreased from 10.6 ± 12.7 seconds pre-outbreak to 9.8 ± 11.8 seconds post-outbreak, a 7% decrease (p<0.001). The average length of call also decreased from 1.32 ± 1.42 minutes pre-outbreak to 1.06 ± 1.28 minutes post-outbreak, a 20% decrease (p<0.001). The highest number of daily dispatches occurred during the second and third weeks of the four-week post-outbreak period, peaking at 4557 dispatches/day. After the first reported case of SARS-CoV-2, there were significant increases in chief complaints of fever (211% increase, p<0.001) and respiratory symptoms (245% increase, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The number of EMS calls and dispatches in Tehran increased 347% and 20%, respectively, after the outbreak of COVID-19. Despite this, the time on hold for EMS response decreased. The Tehran EMS system accomplished this by increasing personnel hours, expanding call-center resources, and implementing COVID-19-specific training.

The effect of prehospital telecardiology on the mortality and morbidity of ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: The sooner the primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) is performed, the better prognosis is expected in patients with acute myocardial infarction. The objective is to evaluate the effect of prehospital triage based on electrocardiogram (ECG) and telecardiology on the mortality and morbidity of ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients undergoing PPCI. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted based on the data extracted from the hospital information system (HIS) of one general hospital, which had the capability of performing PPCI 24 h a day, 7 days a week. All patients with STEMI who undergone PPCI during 1 year, transferred by emergency medical service (EMS) and their data were registered in the HIS were eligible. Besides the baseline characteristics, first medical contact (FMC)-to-balloon time was recorded. Morbidity based on predischarge left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and mortality based on Global Registry of Acute Cardiac Events (GRACE) score were also recorded. Patients who were referred to the hospital by EMS with prehospital ECG and telecardiology were compared with those without prehospital ECG. RESULTS: Totally, 298 patients with STEMI were enrolled, of whom 183 patients (61.4%) had prehospital ECG (telecardiology), and 115 patients (38.6%) had not. The means of predischarge LVEF of the patients in the first and the second groups were 40.7 ± 10.4 and 40.6 ± 11.2, respectively (P = 0.946). The mean of the probability of 6-month mortality based on GRACE score in the first group was significantly less than that of the second group (P = 0.004). Analyses of multivariable ordinal logistic regression showed that 6-month mortality severity risk in the second group was 1.5 times more than the first group (95% confidence interval 0.8-2.6), although this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.199). CONCLUSIONS: It is likely that prehospital telecardiology, with shortening FMC to balloon time result in reducing probability 6-month mortality in STEMI patients who undergone PPCI. However, the process of telecardiology had no effect on predischarge LVEF in the current study.

Accuracy of the pre-hospital triage tools (qSOFA, NEWS, and PRESEP) in predicting probable COVID-19 patients' outcomes transferred by Emergency Medical Services.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of pre-hospital triage tools including the qSOFA, NEWS, and PRESEP in determining the prognosis of probable COVID-19 patients. METHODS: In this diagnostic accuracy study, all probable COVID-19 patients older than 16-year-old who were transferred to the hospital by the Tehran Emergency Medical Services (EMS) during the first month of the pandemic, entered to the study. The scores of qSOFA, NEWS, and PRESEP were calculated using data gathered while providing pre-hospital care. The primary outcome was death; and the secondary outcomes were ICU admission, length of stay in the ICU, and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: The data of 557 individuals with the mean age of 56.93±18.31 were analyzed of whom 67.5% were males. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of qSOFA, NEWS, and PRESEP for ICU admission was 0.553, 0.557, and 0.551, respectively. The AUC of qSOFA, NEWS, and PRESEP for death was 0.596, 0.566, and 0.604, respectively. The best obtained cut-off point for qSOFA was a score >0 (the sensitivity and specificity were 25.0 and 85.68%, respectively), for NEWS was a score >2 (the sensitivity and specificity were 83.61 and 32.67%, respectively), and for PRESEP was a score >1 (the sensitivity and specificity were 54.10 and 55.56%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of the current study, it is likely that the available pre-hospital triage tools (qSOFA, NEWS, and PRESEP) do not have proper efficacy to predict death, ICU admission, and disease severity of COVID-19 patients.

Epidemiological Features of Injured Patients Examined by Tehran Emergency Medical Service Technicians.

INTRODUCTION: Knowledge of epidemiological aspects can be a useful guide in determining the resources for better prevention and management of injuries. There are some performed studies on this topic in Iran, based on the limited hospital database. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is not any survey based on the pre-hospital database. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess baseline characteristics of the traumatic patients according to the records of Tehran Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Center to present descriptive statistics of their epidemiological features. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted retrospectively, using Tehran EMS center data registry. All traumatic patients examined by EMS in Tehran, Iran following call to emergency medical dispatcher were included. By reviewing the EMS technicians' mission forms, required data were extracted. The mission form contains information such as age, sex, injured location, damage mechanism, accident location (home, workplace, street), time of call, the outcome of the patient's ambulance mission and the results of the assessment of the technician, etc. RESULTS: Totally, 56612 injured cases with the mean age of 33.1±15.6 years were examined by EMS during one-year study period of whom 80.4% were male. Crude Incidence Rate was 10.5 and 2.5 per 1000 in male and female, respectively. Traffic accident and then fall were the two most prevalent mechanism of injuries. All types of injuries were significantly more prevalent in males (P<0.001). Most injuries were in winter season with 15570 cases (27.5%). Car accident was prevalent in winter and other injuries were significantly prevalent in spring (P<0.001). The most frequent places of injuries occurred on main roads and streets (55.7%). All of the road-related injuries was prevalent in winter, whereas injuries in other places were prevalent in spring (P<0.001). Most of the cases (78.3%) were transferred to the health centers, but 20.7% did not consent to treatment and transmission. Only 222 cases (0.4%) died, that 95% was due to traffic accident. there was a significant relationship between the number of injured organs and the death; So that the highest death rate occurred for those with more than 5 injured organs (P <0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, traffic accident was the most frequent cause of trauma that led to visiting a traumatic patient by an EMS technician in Tehran, Iran. Injuries in all age groups were more prevalent in males, and the involvement of 5 or more injured organ had a significant relationship with mortality.

Iranian Emergency Medical Service Response in Disaster; Report of three Earthquakes.

INTRODUCTION: The earthquake is one of the most natural catastrophic crises that can cause a lot of casualties. Considering an earthquake-prone country, Iran is ranked as one of the world's most dangerous countries. OBJECTIVE: In this article, we describe the actions taken by emergency medical service (EMS) after the earthquake in Kermanshah, Varzaghan, and Bam and compared the strengths and weaknesses of the emergency response program and the limitations and challenges of this system in dealing with these major crises. METHOD: This study is a cross-sectional study that compares some of the information and findings related to three earthquakes that occurred in Iran, including Bam, Varzaghan and Sarpol-e-Zahab earthquakes. The data reported in the present article is descriptive and is based on various independent sources such as National Emergency Operation Center, Local Emergency Operations Center (EOC), the EMS of the country, the World Health Organization, the United Nations, the statistics website, the Forensic Data website, the International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, conferences and personal interviews. To ensure the credibility of the information, the authors reported data that had been verified by two or more sources. RESULTS: The characteristics of the geographic area of the 3 earthquakes has been described. Post-earthquake response activities were described in details in subheadings including rapid warning and response, surge capacity plan, rapid response teams, emergency medical teams, increasing the capacity of health facilities, increasing transfer capacity, and handling, transportation and distribution of injuries. CONCLUSION: In the recent earthquake, had been occurred in Sarpol-e-Zahab, the health response of the country was largely satisfactory. The existence of structures such as EOC at various levels, the unified incident command system, emergency operations plan, and Medical Care Monitoring Center are among the most important reasons for satisfactory performance.

The Role of Pre-Hospital Telecardiology in Reducing the Coronary Reperfusion Time; a Brief Report.

INTRODUCTION: Telecardiology is defined as using telecommunication for remote treatment of cardiac patients. This study aimed to assess the role of pre-hospital triage via telecardiology on coronary reperfusion time of patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from September, 2015 to January, 2018 in six academic referral hospitals, Tehran, Iran. Studied patients were divided into two groups of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) following telecardiology or PCI following emergency department (ED) diagnosis of STEMI and time to reperfusion was compared between them. RESULTS: 1205 patients with the mean age of 58.99 ± 12.33 (19-95) years entered the study (82.7% male). 841 (69.8%) cases were transferred directly to the Cath-Lab following telecardiology and 364 (30.2%) cases were first admitted to the ED. There was no significant difference between the groups regarding mean age (p = 0.082) and gender (p = 0.882) of participants. Symptom-to-device interval time in patients who underwent PCI following telecardiology was significantly lower (p < 0.001); however, the difference was not significant in the first medical contact (FMC)-to-device interval time (p = 0.268). CONCLUSIONS: It is likely that the use of telecardiology in pre-hospital triage plays an important role in reducing time to PCI for patients with STEMI.