Study objective:
The purpose of this study was to determine the number of eligible prehospital thrombolytic candidates and to estimate the potential time saved if field thrombolysis had been initiated in a series of prehespital chest pain patients.
Design and setting: Prehospita112-lead ECGs were obtained by paramedics during initial evaluation of chest pain patients and stored in the computerized ECG. Prehospital 12-lead ECGs, prehospitat charts, and hospital charts then were reviewed retrospectively for final hospital diagnosis, prehospital and emergency department times, and historical exclusion criteria for prehospital treatment with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (r-TPA).
Type of participants: One hundred fifty-seven stable adult prehospital patients with a chief complaint of nontraumatic chest pain were enrolled. Six patients were excluded. Two had unretrievable 12-lead ECGs, and four refused paramedic transport and thus provided no further data. There were complete data on 151 patients making up the final study population. APRIL1992 21:4 ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE 379/41 r-TPA Aufderheide et al Conclusion: Prehospita112-lead ECGs provide an ECG diagnosis 40 to 50 minutes earlier than ED ECGs. However, with current exclusion criteria, the number of prehospital r-TPA candidates is limited.