Impact of improved prehospital emergency medical service system on the time management of chest pain patients in the emergency department

Objectives: To investigate the impact of an improved prehospital emergency medical service system (EMSS) on the time management of chest pain (CP) patients in the Emergency Department in our hospital and define the role of the improved prehospital EMSS in the treatment of CP patients. Methods: All patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing coronary artery stent placement (CASP) in our hospital from August 2011 to December 2012 were included in this study, and were randomly divided into a study group (SG) and control group (COG) by the random number table method. The critical time periods [e.g., time to dispatch ambulance upon the receipt of the call to 120, time from hospital entrance to the Emergency Department, time from arrival at hospital to: first treatment, to first electrocardiogram (ECG), to monitoring of vital signs, to establishment of venous access device (VAD), and to entrance to catheter room in the two groups were sorted out for statistical analysis. Results: Improved prehospital EMSS can markedly shorten the time to dispatch ambulance upon the receipt of the call to 120, time from hospital entrance to the Emergency Department, and time to first treatment, time to first ECG, to monitoring of vital signs, to establishment of VAD, and to entrance to the catheter room; it also prolonged the 5-year survival rate (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Improved prehospital EMSS can significantly improve the time management of CP patients in the Emergency Department.