Nurse-led Early Triage (NET) study of chest pain patients: a long term evaluation study of a service development aimed at improving the management of patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes

• Published in: European journal of cardiovascular nursing : journal of the Working Group on Cardiovascular Nursing of the European Society of Cardiology 2014-06, Vol.13 (3), p.253-260
• Main Authors: O’Neill, L, Smith, K, Currie, PF, Elder, DHJ, Wei, L, Lang, CC
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute Coronary Syndrome - drug therapy; Acute Coronary Syndrome - mortality; Acute Coronary Syndrome - nursing; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cardiovascular Nursing - methods; Cardiovascular Nursing - organization & administration; Chest Pain - drug therapy; Chest Pain - mortality; Chest Pain - nursing; Coronary Care Units - organization & administration; Coronary heart disease; Critical Pathways - organization & administration; Electrocardiography; Evidence-Based Practice - methods; Evidence-Based Practice - organization & administration; Female; Heart; Hospital Mortality; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Myocardial Infarction - drug therapy; Myocardial Infarction - mortality; Myocardial Infarction - nursing; Myocarditis. Cardiomyopathies; Nursing Assessment - methods; Nursing Assessment - organization & administration; Risk Factors; Thrombolytic Therapy - nursing; Triage - methods; Triage - organization & administration
• ISSN: 1474-5151; 1873-1953
• DOI: 10.1177/1474515113488026

Background: Patients presenting with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) are at risk of early death. This may be reduced by timely assessment and treatment. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate if Nurse-led Early Triage (NET) in the coronary care unit (CCU) can improve time to assessment and management of NSTE-ACS patients. Methods: Data on 79 consecutive chest pain patients admitted pre-NET to the acute admissions unit (AAU) and on 103 patients admitted in the first six months of the NET service in CCU, was re-examined and compared to subsequent data obtained on 92 patients admitted via NET five years later, in order to re-evaluate the service. Results: NET resulted in significant improvements in: the number of patients with chest pain who had their 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) performed within 10 min of admission (94% vs 32%, p