Crowding in the emergency department does not adversely affect door-to-balloon time for heart attack patients, according to research published in Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Researchers measured the ED occupancy rate when patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction arrived and the time to achieve emergency percutaneous coronary intervention. The study took place in one hospital.
The mean ED occupancy rate at the patients' arrival was 127 percent, and the mean time to balloon inflation was 65 minutes. An increase in ED occupancy was not associated with an increase in time to balloon inflation.
The authors concluded that ED crowding does not prohibit timely emergency treatment for heart attack patients.
Read the Annals of Emergency Medicine abstract on ED crowding.
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Researchers measured the ED occupancy rate when patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction arrived and the time to achieve emergency percutaneous coronary intervention. The study took place in one hospital.
The mean ED occupancy rate at the patients' arrival was 127 percent, and the mean time to balloon inflation was 65 minutes. An increase in ED occupancy was not associated with an increase in time to balloon inflation.
The authors concluded that ED crowding does not prohibit timely emergency treatment for heart attack patients.
Read the Annals of Emergency Medicine abstract on ED crowding.
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