To the Editor: A review by Harper and Lefkovits favoured increased use of prehospital thrombolysis (PHT) for the management of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).1 The acknowledged importance of early reperfusion and the ready application of PHT make this a sound recommendation for settings that are remote from percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centres. However, the recommendation of using PHT for patients presenting within 2 hours of symptom onset in metropolitan areas is more controversial.
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- Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, NSW.
- 1. Harper RW, Lefkovits J. Prehospital thrombolysis followed by early angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention where appropriate — an underused strategy for the management of STEMI. Med J Aust 2010; 193: 234-237. <MJA full text>
- 2. Bonnefoy E, Steg PG, Boutite F, et al. Comparison of primary angioplasty and pre-hospital fibrinolysis in acute myocardial infarction (CAPTIM) trial: a 5-year follow-up. Eur Heart J 2009: 30: 1598-1606.
- 3. Steg PG, Bonnefoy E, Chabaud S, et al. Impact of time to treatment on mortality after prehospital fibrinolysis or primary angioplasty: data from the CAPTIM randomized clinical trial. Circulation 2003; 108: 2851-2856.
- 4. Stenestrand U, Lindbäck J, Wallentin L; RIKS-HIA Registry. Long-term outcome of primary percutaneous coronary intervention vs prehospital and in-hospital thrombolysis for patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. JAMA 2006; 296: 1749-1756.
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- 6. Assessment of the Safety and Efficacy of a New Treatment Strategy with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (ASSENT-4 PCI) investigators. Primary versus tenecteplase-facilitated percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (ASSENT-4 PCI): randomised trial. Lancet 2006; 367: 569-578.