Background: European guidelines on managing ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) during the first 12hours recommend fibrinolysis when the time elapsing between the first medical contact and balloon time (FMCBT) is more than 120minutes.
Aim: To assess the real-life clinical efficacy of guidelines on fibrinolysis in managing STEMI and identify obstacles to their everyday implementation.
Methods: An observational study based on a permanent registry of reperfusion strategies and timing among patients treated in a French general hospital for STEMI with chest pain lasting for less than two hours. Patients were enrolled between January 1st 2008 and December 31st 2014.
Results: The study included 669 patients: 79 (11.8%) benefited from effective fibrinolysis followed by coronary arteriography (PCI) within 24hours, 445 (66.5%) underwent a primary PCI, 99 (14.8%) received a rescue PCI and 46 (6.9%) did not undergo revascularization. The FMCBT was 120minutes or longer in 209 patients: fibrinolysis was performed in 68 of these patients (32.5%), and primary PCI in 141 (114 (54.6%) without contraindications to fibrinolysis and 27 (12.9%) with contraindications). The patient's age, female gender, co-morbidities and clinical management were factors that appeared to be linked to poor compliance with the guidelines, but none were significant (P>00.5). Nor were there significant differences regarding bleeding complications between patients receiving fibrinolysis or primary PCI (P>0.05).
Conclusion: The guidelines on fibrinolysis were not followed in 54.6% of patients when the FMCBT was more than 120minutes. Some criteria (age, gender, co-morbidities) may have been responsible for this non-compliance, although underestimating the time between first medical contact and arrival in the catheterisation laboratory could not be excluded. Further studies are necessary to improve estimates of this delay.
Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier SAS.