Correlation between percutaneous coronary intervention volume, door-to-balloon time and mortality of patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Reperfusion therapy with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the preferred method for treatment of STEMI if it can be done in a timely manner in a high volume center. The present study aimed to evaluate the correlation between total PCI volume, emergency PCI volume, elective PCI volume, mean door-to-balloon (DTB) time and in-hospital mortality of patients with STEMI treated with emergency PCI. MATERIAL AND METHOD Using Prince of Songkla university emergency PCI registry, the authors analyzed the study population of STEMI patients who underwent emergency PCI between January 2007 and December 2010. Pearson's Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the correlation. RESULTS One thousand five hundred one PCI procedures including 355 emergency PCI procedures were done during the present study period. All types of PCI volume increased in each consecutive year between 2007 and 2010 while mean DTB time and in-hospital mortality continuously declined. The mean DTB time had positive correlation (r = 0.932) with in-hospital mortality. The emergency PCI volume was strongly negatively correlated with in hospital mortality (r = -0.953) and was statistically significant. There were negative correlations of elective PCI volume (r = -0.796), total PCI volume (r = -0.848), and in-hospital mortality but the correlations were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION For emergency PCI, shorten mean DTB time in each consecutive year was associated with lower in-hospital mortality. Regarding to procedural volume, increase in each type of PCI procedure especially emergency PCI procedure was associated with a decrease in-hospital mortality.