Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on patients with ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention in a regional emergency center in Seoul, Korea

The corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak may have delayed the treatment of patients with ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the emergency department (ED). This study aimed to determine the causes for treatment delay and evaluate the outcomes of such delays in STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention. This was a single-center retrospective observational study. Hospital records of STEMI patients who received primary percutaneous coronary intervention from 01 January 2019, to 31 December 2020, were assessed. The preCOVID-19 period was set before 01 January 2020, and the COVID-19 period was set after 01 January 2020, following which the data between these two periods were compared. During the COVID-19 period, there was a decrease in the reported incidence of STEMI patients compared with during the pre-COVID-19 period (incidence rate ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.55-0.99; p = 0.04). After arrival at ED, the time from door to balloon significantly differed between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 period (78.0 min vs. 102.0 min, p < 0.001). Also, the time to alert a cardiologist (16 min vs. 9 min), puncture time after cardiologist arrival (57 min vs. 42 min), and puncture to balloon time (19 min vs. 14 min) were significantly longer during the COVID period. However, the time from alert to cardiologist arrival was similar. Compared to the preCOVID 19 period, more patients suffered from major adverse cardiac events during the COVID-19 period (n = 20 (25.3%) vs. n = 12 (11.2%), p = 0.012). In both periods, the number of patients admitted to the intensive care unit and died (106 vs. 79, 9 vs. 10, respectively) and the number of days spent in the ICU were similar. Early recognition of critically ill patients and appropriate response in the ED can lower misdiagnosis rates and increase prompt and correct treatments, thereby improving patient prognosis.