Emergency Department Use of Aspirin in Patients with Possible Acute Myocardial Infarction

15 July 1997 | Volume 127 Issue 2 | Pages 126-129

Background: Efforts have been made to improve the suboptimal use of aspirin after hospitalization.

Objective: To assess the frequency and timing of aspirin administration in emergency department patients with possible myocardial infarction.

Design: Retrospective record review.

Setting: Emergency departments of four hospitals affiliated with the same university.

Patients: All patients who were admitted to the four hospitals in 1994 for evaluation and treatment of suspected acute myocardial infarction.

Measurements: The frequency and timing of aspirin administration and the definitive diagnosis established before discharge from the hospital.

Results: Aspirin was not given to 253 of 463 emergency department patients (55%) who had a definitive diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Seventy-eight percent of patients who did receive aspirin received it more than 30 minutes after arrival in the emergency department.

Conclusion: Aspirin therapy is underutilized as the first intervention in patients who are admitted with suspected myocardial infarction.

Author and Article Information

From the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Pawtucket, Rhode Island; and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Roger Williams Medical Center, The Miriam Hospital, and Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
Acknowledgments: The authors thank Suzanne Bailey and Teresa Gadouas for their excellent help with manuscript preparation and Elizabeth Coccio, RN, and Katherine Hutchinson, RN, for technical assistance.
Requests for Reprints: Alfred F. Parisi, MD, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, 164 Summit Avenue, Providence, RI 02906.
Current Author Addresses: Dr. Saketkhou: 22245 Alyssum Way, Boca Raton, FL 33433.