Challenges in Timely Pharmacological Reperfusion Therapy of Acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) is the most severe presentation of an Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) resulting from sudden occlusion of one of the major epicardial coronary arteries resulting in myocardial injury and necrosis within minutes to few hours. Despite Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) being the gold standard, thrombolytic therapy is still the most common form of reperfusion therapy in eligible patients of acute STEMI even in large metropolitan cities in India. Aim: To find the proportion of STEMI patients receiving thrombolytic therapy within four hours of the onset of symptoms and within 30 minutes of reaching the hospital and to explore factors related to Pain-To-Door (P2D) delay. Materials and Methods: This was a single-centre cross-sectional observational study of 147 STEMI patients conducted at a tertiary care hospital in the National Capital Territory (India). from February to May 2017. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institute's Ethics Committee. All patients were interviewed and their medical records reviewed. Factors related to delay in reaching hospital and association of patient characteristics with those receiving thrombolytic therapy were explored using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Results: Mean age of the study population was 52.1 +/- 13.1 years and 121 (82.3%) were men. Median P2D time was 4.7 hours (IQR-2.2-17.0). Overall, 64 (43.5%) of 147 patients reached the hospital within four hours of chest pain. Only 5 (3.4%) patients availed ambulance to reach the hospital. Distance from the hospital, seeking care elsewhere and delay in reaction to symptom were reasons for the delay (>4 hours). Median Door-To-Needle (D2N) time was 45.9 minutes (IQR- 30.6-61.2). Patients who reached the hospital at night were more likely to be thrombolysed after adjusting for time to reach the hospital. Conclusion: Significant P2D and Door-To-Balloon (D2B) delays still exist in large metro cities in India. Action is needed both at the population level as well as system level to reduce these delays.