REDUCING DELAY IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM IN ADMINISTRATION OF THROMBOLYTIC THERAPY FOR MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION ASSOCIATED WITH ST ELEVATION

Thrombolytic therapy reduces mortality and improves left ventricular function in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).1-5 Our review of 816 patients treated in community hospitals showed that the primary care or emergency physician can use these drugs effectively, but we also found that the average delay from arrival in the emergency department to institution of thrombolytic therapy was 86 minutes.6 This is similar to other cities, in which an average time from arrival in the emergency department to time of treatment was 84 minutes.7 We began this study to see if the time delay between patient presentation to emergency department and institution of thrombolytic therapy could be reduced. © 1991.