Improving Door-to-Balloon Time of Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) in the Emergency Department

Background: Door-to-balloon time (DTBT) <= 90 minutes has become an important quality indicator in the management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We identified three specific problems in the course from arrival of STEMI patients at our emergency department to initiation of balloon inflation and determined an intervention comprised of specific administrative and professional steps. The focus of the intervention was on triage within the emergency department (ED) and on increasing the efficiency and accuracy of electrocardiography interpretation. Objectives: To examine whether our intervention reduced the proportion of patients with DTBT > 90 minutes. Methods: We compared DTBT of patients admitted to the ED with STEMI during the year preceding and the year following implementation of the intervention. Results: Demographic and clinical characteristics at presentation to the ED were similar for patients admitted to the ED in the year preceding and the year following intervention. The year preceding intervention, DTBT was > 90 minutes for 19/78 patients (24%). The year after intervention, DTBT was > 90 minutes for 17/102 patients (17%). For both years, the median DTBT was 1 hour. Patients with DTBT > 90 minutes tended to be older and more often female. Diagnoses in the ED were similar between those with DTBT 90 minutes and > 90 minutes. Inhospital mortality was 17% (13/78) and 14% (14/102) for the respective time periods. Conclusions: An intervention specifically designed to address problems identified at one medical center was shown to decrease the proportion of patients with DTBT > 90 minutes.