[Role of cardiac first aid in a level-II Emergency Department].

We report our experience in the organization and management of a Cardiac First Aid Unit (CFAU) which was developed according to the guidelines of the National Hospital Cardiologists Association as a part of a General Emergency Department. The CFAU is a 24 hour service directed by a Senior Cardiologist. The medical facilities are two monitored beds for short-term observation (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation instruments, echocardiograph, endoesophageal pacing for overdrive). The main goals of CFAU are the treatment of cardiac emergencies (acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary oedema, threatening arrhythmias, etc.) and the screening of patients presenting with chest pain or symptoms suggesting cardio-vascular involvement. In one year, there were 1700 admissions to the CFAU (3.7% of the total Medical Emergencies). The frequency of hospital admissions was 81% and coronary heart disease accounted for 38.3%. A sample of 100 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction admitted in the period October-November 1996 was examined to explore the impact of a CFAU on in-hospital delay in the application of thrombolysis. Thirty-nine patients were treated with thrombolysis, 15 in CFAU and 24 in Coronary Care Unit (CCU). The mean in-hospital delay to thrombolysis was 30 +/- 14 minutes for those treated in CFAU and 55 +/- 12 minutes for those treated in CCU (p < 0.0004). In a second sample of 100 consecutive patients with undetermined chest pain, by means of our protocol of short observation we identified 22 cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 8 cases of angina pectoris, 18 various cardiac causes, 30 non-cardiac causes, 22 absent disease. ECG was obtained in all 100 pts, cardiac enzymes in 74, echocardiogram and chest X-ray in 48, ST monitoring in 26. In no case was diagnosed AMI after discharge. Cardiac First Aid Unit, as designed in our Hospital, suits the needs of a level II Emergency Department. It is a useful tool to shorten in-hospital delay to thrombolysis and to screen chest pain with nearly complete safety.