The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management and outcomes of STEMI patients in Switzerland. (14th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fournier, S; Mahendiran, T; Radovanovic, D; Pedrazzini, G; Eberli, F; Roffi, M; Kobza, R; Rickli, H
• Is Part Of: European heart journal. Volume 42(2021)Supplement 1
• Publication Date: 2021-10-14
• Subjects: Treatment; Cardiology -- Periodicals; Heart -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 616.12005
• DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab724.1407
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0195-668X

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented strain on healthcare systems around the world, with potential repercussions on the quality of care of patients with other diseases. From a cardiological perspective, there have been concerns that the pandemic may have impacted the management of the most acute cardiovascular conditions. Purpose: We evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in Switzerland by assessing a range of quality-of-care metrics during the first year of the pandemic, as compared with the preceding year. Methods: Data on STEMI patients hospitalised in Switzerland from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2020 were obtained from the Acute Myocardial Infarction in Switzerland (AMIS) registry. Symptom-to-first-medical-contact (symptom-to-FMC) time, symptom-to-door time, and door-to-balloon (DTB) time were compared between 2020 and 2019 in an analysis by year and by month. Additionally, rates of in-hospital all-cause mortality and in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE: all-cause mortality, MI, stroke) were compared. Results: Data on 2192 STEMI patients were available. Compared with the preceding 12 months, the first year of the pandemic was not associated with a significant change in median symptom-to-FMC time (2020: 90 minutes vs 2019: 95 minutes, p=0.32) or median symptom-to-door time (2020: 145 min vs 2019: 157 min, p=0.51). In 2020, February (start of the pandemic) and March (start of national lockdown) were associated with increased DTB times as compared with the same months of 2019 (+7 minutes, +10 minutes, respectively). However, overall median door-to-balloon times remained stable (2020: 40 min vs 2019: 39 min, p=0.06). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the proportion of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (2020: 95.6% vs 2019: 95.1%, p=0.54). Finally, there were no significant differences in median length of stay (2020: 4 days vs 2019: 157 min, p=0.51), in-hospital all-cause mortality (2020: 4.9% vs. 2019: 4.2%, p=0.41) or MACE (2020: 6.2% vs. 2019: 5.6%, p=0.52). Conclusions: Although there are some limitations associated with the present study inherent to its retrospective observational design (for instance, a potentially important number of late comers may not have been included in the registry), the data suggest that despite the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare system in Switzerland in 2020, STEMI management as defined by a range of quality-of-care metrics remained effective and efficient. Funding Acknowledgement: Type of funding sources: None.