Association between use of pre-hospital ECG and 30-day mortality: A large cohort study of patients experiencing chest pain. (1st December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rawshani, Nina; Rawshani, Araz; Gelang, Carita; Herlitz, Johan; Bång, Angela; Andersson, Jan-Otto; Gellerstedt, Martin
• Is Part Of: International journal of cardiology. Volume 248(2017)
• Page Start: 77
• Page End: 81
• Publication Date: 2017-12-01
• Subjects: Pre-hospital -- Chest pain -- Electrocardiography (ECG) -- Mortality; Cardiology -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.12
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.06.032
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0167-5273

Abstract

Abstract: Background: In the assessment of patients with chest pain, there is support for the use of pre-hospital ECG in the literature and in the care guidelines. Using propensity score methods, we aim to examine whether the mere acquisition of a pre-hospital ECG among patients with chest pain affects the outcome (30-day mortality). Methods: The association between pre-hospital ECG and 30-day mortality was studied in the overall cohort (n = 13151), as well as in the one-to-one matched cohort with 2524 patients not examined with pre-hospital ECG and 2524 patients examined with pre-hospital ECG. Results: In the overall cohort, 21% (n = 2809) did not undergo an ECG tracing in the pre-hospital setting. Among those who had pain during transport, 14% (n = 1159) did not undergo a pre-hospital ECG while 32% (n = 1135) of those who did not have pain underwent an ECG tracing. In the overall cohort, the OR for 30-day mortality in patients who had a pre-hospital ECG, as compared with those who did not, was 0.63 (95% CI 0.05-0.79; p < 0.001). In the matched cohort, the OR was 0.65 (95% CI 0.49-0.85; p < 0.001). Using the propensity score, in the overall cohort, the corresponding HR was 0.65 (95% CI 0.58-0.74). Conclusion: Using propensity score methods, we provide real-world data demonstrating that the adjusted risk of death was considerably lower among the cases in whoma pre-hospital ECG was used. The PH-ECG is underused among patients with chest discomfort and the mere acquisition of a pre-hospital ECG may reduce mortality.