Effect of Covid-۱۹ pandemic on the treatment management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)

Backgrounds: This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of Covid-۱۹ pandemic on the treatment management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods: This retrospective descriptive analytical study investigated the medical records of patients with STEMI, who were consecutively admitted to Heshmatieh Hospital in Sabzevar city and underwent Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in the first ۹ months of ۲۰۱۹ as "Pre-pandemic group" and the same period in ۲۰۲۰ as "post-pandemic group". The data collection tools of our study constituted of registration and Demographic Verification Form as well as treatment registration checklist. The validity of this checklist was checked through content validity. The study period was one month between April ۴, ۲۰۲۱ and May ۵, ۲۰۲۱. The SPSS version ۲۵.۰ was used for data analysis.Results: The average time from the onset of disease to entry into triage and time from entry into triage to commencement of PPCI were significantly increased inthe post-pandemic group compared to the pre-pandemic group. The mean length of stay was reduced, after the intervention in the post-pandemic group. Despite the reduction in the number of referrals of STEMI patients in post covid-۱۹ pandemic period, comparison of the referral of patients by the month showed no significant difference between the two study groups before and after the covid-۱۹ pandemic.Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that covid-۱۹ pandemic caused treatment delay and reduced hospital stay among STEMI patients. However, this showed no effect on in-hospital mortality, the mode of transmission and referral rate of myocardial infarction patients by month.