Impact of Non-medicalized ECG Practices Initiated by SAMU in Dispatch Strategies

The performance of an ECG by non-medicalized prehospital teams (firefighters, first responders, paramedic ambulances) is developing across the territory to cope with the increasing demand (SAMU calls) for a service that cannot meet it (limited Mobile Emergency and Resuscitation Unit - SMUR - teams).

Early diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome is key to appropriate management. A delay in care can quickly lead to complications ranging from rhythm disorders to cardiac arrest. Furthermore, as with reperfusion in strokes, the earlier reperfusion treatment is initiated, the greater the beneficial effect in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Moreover, the main elements for diagnosing STEMI in the prehospital setting remain the ECG, along with the anamnesis (medical history) and clinical examination (typical pain).

This is an observational, retrospective and single-center study (SAMU 91) carried out between September 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024. The inclusion criteria for our study were adult patients who had been regulated by SAMU 91 during a primary intervention and who had ST+ ACS registered in the eMUST registry. The main objective was to study the difference in the admission times of patients admitted to the emergency intensive care unit of cardiology or coronary angiography and presenting with ST+ ACS on the ECG performed by a primary SMUR team versus a non-medical team referred by the SAMU. The secondary objectives were to study the descriptive variables between the two groups (SMUR and non-medicalized vector), the typicity of pain, the mortality rate and the morbidity rate between the two groups.