Acute coronary syndrome - Factors causing delayed presentation at the Emergency Department

Introduction: The aim of the study was to identify factors that contributed to delays in presentation of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) at the Emergency Department (ED). Materials and Methods: The study population comprised patients presenting with the signs and symptoms of ACS at the ED of 5 government and restructured hospitals in Singapore from 1 April to 31 May 1999. These patients were interviewed with a structured questionnaire which explored patient demographic data, risk factors, prehospital symptomatology, timing of chest pain, patient response to chest pain and mode of transport to the hospital. Results: Three hundred and two patients who made 307 visits were recruited. More than three-quarters of the patients presented with central or left-sided chest pain. Forty-seven per cent had breathlessness and 42% had sweating. The commonest day of presentation was Monday. It took patients a median time of 2.1 hours from their worst chest pain to arrive at the ED. Past history of diabetes mellitus was associated with a longer delay in presentation. Most of the delay was due to patients awaiting symptom resolution. Forty per cent came by emergency ambulances to hospital. Conclusion: Our findings identified various patient characteristics that contributed to delay in presentation to hospital which should be addressed in future education campaigns.