Early Hospital Discharge Following PCI for Patients With STEMI

BACKGROUND Regional heart attack services have improved clinical outcomes following ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) by facilitating early reperfusion by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Early discharge after primary PCI is welcomed by patients and increases efficiency of health care. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to assess the safety and feasibility of a novel early hospital discharge pathway for lowrisk STEMI patients. METHODS Between March 2020 and June 2021, 600 patients who were deemed at low risk for early major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were selected for inclusion in the pathway and were successfully discharged in <48 hours. Patients were reviewed by a structured telephone follow-up at 48 hours after discharge by a cardiac rehabilitation nurse and underwent a virtual follow-up at 2, 6, and 8 weeks and at 3 months. RESULTS The median length of hospital stay was 24.6 hours (interquartile range [IQR]: 22.7-30.0 hours) (prepathway median: 65.9 hours [IQR: 48.1-120.2 hours]). After discharge, all patients were contacted, with none lost to follow-up. During median follow-up of 271 days (IQR: 88-318 days), there were 2 deaths (0.33%), both caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (>30 days after discharge), with 0% cardiovascular mortality and MACE rates of 1.2%. This finding compared favorably with a historical group of 700 patients meeting pathway criteria who remained in the hospital for >48 hours (>48-hour control group) (mortality, 0.7%; MACE, 1.9%) both in unadjusted and propensity-matched analyses. CONCLUSIONS Selected low-risk patients can be discharged safely following successful primary PCI by using a pathway that is supported by a structured, multidisciplinary virtual follow-up schedule. (C) 2021 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

Automated summary

This study demonstrated the safety and feasibility of early hospital discharge for low-risk STEMI patients following successful primary PCI. The structured, multidisciplinary virtual follow-up schedule supported pathway helped achieve a favorable outcome with low cardiovascular mortality and MACE rates compared to a control group of patients who stayed in the hospital for >48 hours.