OBJECTIVETo observe the early reperfusion therapy status for patients with ST elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) hospitalized in tertiary and secondary hospitals in Henan province.

METHODSBaseline data, early reperfusion treatment and in-hospital mortality of STEMI patients hospitalized in 17 hospitals in Henan province (8 tertiary hospitals, 9 secondary hospitals) from June 2011 to June 2012 were obtained using a uniformed questionnaire.

RESULTSOne thousand six hundred and eighty six patients were enrolled, of which 886 patients were hospitalized in tertiary hospitals and 880 patients were early hospitalized in secondary hospitals. Six hundred and fifty four patients (38.8%, 654/1 686) underwent early reperfusion therapy (543 with thrombolysis and 111 with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)). There was no difference in the proportion of early reperfusion therapy between tertiary and secondary hospitals (40.1% (355/886) vs. 37.4% (299/800), P = 0.257). The median time from symptom onset to first medical contact, door-to-needle and door-to-balloon was 132 min, 18 min and 60 min, respectively. The median time from symptom onset to first medical contact (150 min vs. 120 min, P = 0.001), door-to-needle (30 min vs. 18 min, P = 0.003) and symptom onset-to-thrombolysis (3.5 h vs. 2.7 h, P = 0.001) were significantly longer in tertiary hospitals than in secondary hospitals. No difference was found in median time of door-to-balloon, symptom onset-to-primary PCI or symptom onset-to-elected PCI between tertiary and secondary hospitals (all P > 0.05). The proportion of door-to-needle ≤ 30 min was lower in tertiary hospitals than in secondary hospitals (46.4% (84/181) vs. 62.2% (153/246), P = 0.001). However, there was no difference in the proportion of door-to-balloon ≤ 90 min between tertiary and secondary hospitals (58.8% (60/102) vs. 57.1% (4/7), P = 1.000). In-hospital mortality was also similar between tertiary and secondary hospitals (5.8% (51/886) vs. 5.5% (44/800), P = 0.820).

CONCLUSIONSEarly reperfusion rate is low, and thrombolysis is the main early reperfusion therapy in both tertiary and secondary hospitals in Henan province. Tertiary hospitals did not take advantage of their primary PCI capability. There is great room for improvement in early reperfusion therapy in tertiary and secondary hospitals.