Time to treatment in patients of suspected acute coronary syndrome in Pakistan: a clinical audit

Document Type

Article

Department

Emergency Medicine

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate time to treatment (TT) in suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients in the Emergency Department (ED) in Pakistan.Methods: In this clinical audit, medical records of adult patients with suspicion of ACS visiting the ED of a tertiary care facility in Karachi from January to March of 2012 were reviewed and evaluated according to benchmarks from American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines.Results: Study included 230 patients, of which 62.6% were males (n=144). Physicians saw most patients (74.1%) in ≤10min (min) of ED triage. ECG was performed in ≤10min in 93 (47.7%) patients. Of the 207 patients being prescribed Aspirin, 41.9% received it in ≤10min. Of 155 patients who were prescribed anti-coagulants (e.g., heparin), 32.9% received them in 10min. Half of the patients requiring primary coronary intervention underwent the procedure within 90min.CONCLUSION: Findings warrant exploring interventions to improve TT for ACS care in resource-limited settings.

Publication (Name of Journal)

Heart and Lung

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