Internal Medicine
Online ISSN : 1349-7235
Print ISSN : 0918-2918
ISSN-L : 0918-2918

This article has now been updated. Please use the final version.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction from a Single-center Experience in Tokyo
Yukihiro WatanabeHideki MiyachiKosuke MozawaKenta YamadaEiichiro OkaReiko ShiomuraYoichiro SugizakiJunya MatsudaJun NakataShuhei TaraYukichi TokitaYu-ki IwasakiTakeshi YamamotoHitoshi TakanoWataru Shimizu
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JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS Advance online publication

Article ID: 8220-21

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Abstract

Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on global healthcare systems. Some studies have reported the negative impact of COVID-19 on ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients; however, the impact in Japan remains unclear. This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on STEMI patients admitted to an academic tertiary-care center in Tokyo, Japan.

Methods In this retrospective, observational, cohort study, we included 398 consecutive patients who were admitted to our institute from January 1, 2018, to March 10, 2021, and compared the incidence of hospitalization, clinical characteristics, time course, management, and outcomes before and after March 11, 2020, the date when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

Results There was a 10.7% reduction in hospitalization of STEMI patients during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with that in the previous year (117 vs. 131 cases). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of late presentation was significantly higher (26.5% vs. 12.1%, p<0.001), and the onset-to-door (241 [IQR: 70-926] vs. 128 [IQR: 66-493] min, p=0.028) and door-to-balloon (72 [IQR: 61-128] vs. 60 [IQR: 43-90] min, p<0.001) times were significantly longer than in the previous year. Furthermore, the in-hospital mortality was higher, but the difference was not significant (9.4% vs. 5.0%, p=0.098).

Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted STEMI patients in Tokyo and resulted in a slight decrease in hospitalization, a significant increase in late presentation and treatment delays, and a slight but nonsignificant increase in mortality. In the COVID-19 era, the acute management system for STEMI in Japan must be reviewed.

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© 2022 by The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
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