Coronary Care Unit, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología "Ignacio Chávez", Mexico City.
Department of Cardiology, Hospital Nicolás San Juan, Toluca de Lerdo. Mexico.
Arch Cardiol Mex. 2024;94(1):65-70. doi: 10.24875/ACM.23000044.
ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) systems of care have reduced inter-hospital transfer times and facilitated timely reperfusion goals. Helicopters may be an option when land transportation is not feasible; however, the safety of air transport in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a factor to consider.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of helicopter transport for patients with ACS.
Prospective, observational, and descriptive study including patients diagnosed with ACS within the STEMI network of a metropolitan city transferred by helicopter to a large cardiovascular center to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention. The primary outcome of the study was the incidence of air-travel-related complications defined as IV dislodgement, hypoxia, arrhythmia, angina, anxiety, bleeding, and hypothermia. Secondary outcomes included the individual components of the primary outcome.
A total of 106 patients were included in the study; the mean age was 54 years and 84.9% were male. The most frequent diagnosis was STEMI after successful fibrinolysis (51.8%), followed by STEMI with failed fibrinolysis (23.7%) and non-reperfused STEMI (9.4%). Five patients (4.7%) developed at least one complication: IV dislodgement (1.8%) and hypoxemia (1.8%) in two patients and an episode of angina during flight (0.9%). A flight altitude of > 10,000 ft was not associated with complications.
The results of this study suggest that helicopter transportation is safe in patients undergoing acute coronary syndrome, despite the altitude of a metropolitan area.
ST 段抬高型心肌梗死（STEMI）的医疗护理系统已经减少了医院间的转移时间，并促进了及时再灌注的目标。当陆路交通不可行时，直升机可能是一种选择；然而，在急性冠状动脉综合征（ACS）患者中使用空中运输的安全性是需要考虑的一个因素。
本研究旨在评估直升机转运 ACS 患者的安全性。
这是一项前瞻性、观察性和描述性研究，包括通过直升机转运到大城市心血管中心行经皮冠状动脉介入治疗的 STEMI 网络内诊断为 ACS 的患者。该研究的主要结局是与航空旅行相关的并发症发生率，定义为 IV 移位、缺氧、心律失常、心绞痛、焦虑、出血和低体温。次要结局包括主要结局的各个组成部分。
共纳入 106 例患者，平均年龄为 54 岁，84.9%为男性。最常见的诊断是溶栓成功后的 STEMI（51.8%），其次是溶栓失败的 STEMI（23.7%）和未再灌注的 STEMI（9.4%）。有 5 例患者（4.7%）出现了至少一种并发症：2 例患者出现 IV 移位（1.8%）和低氧血症（1.8%），1 例患者在飞行中出现心绞痛发作（0.9%）。飞行高度超过 10000 英尺与并发症无关。
尽管在大城市地区，本研究的结果表明直升机转运对接受急性冠状动脉综合征治疗的患者是安全的。
