TRANSMISSION OF ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS FROM A MOVING AMBULANCE

Delay is the enemy for patients with acute myocardial infarction. It w ould be helpful for the hospital cardiologist to interpret the patient 's electrocardiogram (ECG) before the arrival of the ambulance. The ai m of our study was to determine whether ECG transmission from an ambul ance is feasible and to assess the time savings. An ambulance was equi pped with an ECG recorder, which was connected to a notebook computer and coupled to a cellular telephone for transmission to a hospital-bas ed station. Paramedics needed 2 min (SD 0.5) to record the ECG on the move and 34 s (SD 14) to transmit it. The ambulance arrived 15.5 min ( SD 6.5) after reception. The time between arrival and ECG diagnosis, f or a control group patient, was approximately 9.5 min (SD 3.5). Theref ore, pre-hospital ECC diagnosis took place 25 min (SD 7.5) before in-h ospital diagnosis. We conclude that ECG transmission from a moving amb ulance is feasible, reduces in-hospital delays and allows faster triag e in critical cardiac cases.