Effectiveness of prehospital wireless transmission of electrocardiograms to a cardiologist via hand-held device for patients with acute myocardial infarction (from the Timely Intervention in Myocardial Emergency, NorthEast Experience [TIME-NE]).

Percutaneous coronary intervention for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) decreases morbidity and mortality if performed within the first 2 hours of symptom onset. However, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline for percutaneous coronary intervention door-to-balloon time (<90 minutes) in patients with STEMI is a infrequently accomplished goal. This study enrolled 277 patients with STEMI who were self-transported or transported by emergency medical services to NorthEast Medical Center for primary percutaneous coronary intervention. This study tested the hypothesis that prehospital wireless transmission of an electrocardiogram to a cardiologist's hand-held device results in shorter emergency department door-to-reperfusion time. A comparison was made between patients whose electrocardiogram was successfully transmitted during the intervention phase with (1) patients transported by the emergency medical services in the preintervention, (2) patients self-transported in the intervention phase, and (3) patients whose wireless transmission failed in the intervention phase. During the preintervention phase (2001 to 2003), 48 patients were enrolled. During the intervention phase (2003 to 2005), the following patients were enrolled: 101 self-transported patients, 24 patients with successful electrocardiographic transmission, and 19 patients for whom transmission failed. The median door-to-reperfusion time for patients with successful electrocardiographic transmission was 50 minutes, which was significantly shorter than a preintervention time of 101 minutes (p <0.0001), an intervention phase self-transport time of 96 minutes (p <0.0001), and a failed transmission time of 78 minutes (p <0.0001). In conclusion, prehospital wireless electrocardiographic transmission to a cardiologist's hand-held device significantly decreased emergency department door-to-reperfusion time, thus achieving the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline for patients with STEMI.

Prehospital triage of acute myocardial infarction: wireless transmission of electrocardiograms to the on-call cardiologist via a handheld computer.

BACKGROUND: Use of intravenous fibrinolytic agents and percutaneous coronary interventions produce the greatest benefit when they are implemented in the first 2 hours after symptom onset. Further delays in the time to treatment typically lead to reduced benefits and poorer outcomes. METHODS: Cabarrus County Emergency Medical Service personnel complete an acute myocardial infarction case report form and assess a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) to determine if ST elevation of at least 1 mV in at least 2 contiguous leads is present and then to transmit the ECG wirelessly to the emergency department (ED). The ECG is then forwarded wirelessly from the ED to the on-call cardiologist who is carrying the IPAQ handheld computer. RESULTS: Five representative patients managed using this system during the initial year of its implementation are presented. CONCLUSION: The examples included in this article illustrate that the system and technology can work if applied in a coordinated fashion using multiple disciplines including emergency medical service, cardiologists, ED personnel, and the hospital cardiac care team, which includes the catheterization laboratory call team, acute coronary care nurses, and clerical support staff.