A prehospital randomised controlled trial in South Africa: Challenges and lessons learnt.

ABSTRACT: The incidence of cardiovascular disease and STEMI is on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa. Timely treatment is essential to reduce mortality. Internationally, prehospital 12 lead ECG telemetry has been proposed to reduce time to reperfusion. Its value in South Africa has not been established. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of prehospital 12 lead ECG telemetry on the PCI-times of STEMI patients in South Africa. A multicentre randomised controlled trial was attempted among adult patients with prehospital 12 lead ECG evidence of STEMI. Due to poor enrolment and small sample sizes, meaningful analyses could not be made. The challenges and lessons learnt from this attempt at Africa's first prehospital RCT are discussed. Challenges associated with conducting this RCT related to t

SUBMITTER: Stassen W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6742591 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature