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Protocol Change

Peter Canning

When I started as a paramedic in Hartford in January of 1995, I was given a 100-page protocol book to memorize. For instance, there was no protocol for stroke or STEMI. For instance, there was no protocol for stroke or STEMI. Paramedics didnt do 12-lead ECGs then. Looking through the book today, it is truly an antiquated.

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Acute chest pain, right bundle branch block, no STEMI criteria, and negative initial troponin.

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

The paramedic called the EM physician ahead of arrival and discussed the case and ECGs, and both agreed upon activating "Code STEMI" (even though of course it is not STEMI by definition), so that the acute LAD occlusion could be treated as fast as possible. So the cath lab was activated. Long term outcome is unavailable.

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A prehospital ECG in a patient with chest pain. The paramedics tell me it is normal.

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

Another ECG was recorded while awaiting the cath team: Now there is STEMI Let's look at that first (prehospital ECG) again: Very subtle! A prehospital activation would have save a lot of time and would have been possible if the paramedics were using the Queen of Hearts PMCardio AI app. We activated the cath lab.

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Paramedics make a great call

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

Serial ECGs demonstrated dynamic changes diagnostic of ACS (transient STEMI) 4. Finally, Transient STEMI should be taken emergently to the cath lab. Normalization of Diagnostic For STEMI Prehospital ECG with Nitroglycerin Therapy. If the initial ECG was diagnostic for STEMI the paramedic called to mobilize the reperfusion team.

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Serial ECGs for chest pain: at what point would you activate the cath lab?

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

Below is the first ECG recorded by paramedics after 2 hours of chest pain, interpreted by the machine as “possible inferior ischemia”. While STEMI negative, the ECG is diagnostic of proximal LAD occlusion. In isolation this ECG does not show OMI, but following the paramedic ECGs this indicates spontaneous LAD reperfusion.

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ECG Cases 32 Prehospital ECG pearls and pitfalls

Emergency Medicine Cases

In this ECG Cases blog we review 8 cases of patients with prehospital ECGs and explore prehospital ECGs for diagnosing STEMI, Occlusion MI, false STEMI, code STEMI, dynamic ischemic changes, truncated voltages. Can you avoid the pitfalls and spot the pearls that help to make the diagnosis?

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60 year old with chest pain, STEMI negative. What should the discharge diagnosis be?

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

So while there’s no diagnostic STEMI criteria, there are multiple ischemic abnormalities in 11/12 leads involving QRS, ST and T waves, which are diagnostic of a proximal LAD occlusion. First trop was 7,000ng/L (normal 25% of ‘Non-STEMI’ patients with delayed angiography have the exact same pathology of acute coronary occlusion.

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