PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - J. M. Gaspoz AU - P. F. Unger AU - P. Urban AU - J. C. Chevrolet AU - W. Rutishauser AU - C. Lovis AU - L. Goldman AU - C. Héliot AU - L. Séchaud AU - S. Mischler AU - F. A. Waldvogel TI - Impact of a public campaign on pre-hospital delay in patients reporting chest pain. AID - 10.1136/hrt.76.2.150 DP - 1996 Aug 01 TA - Heart PG - 150--155 VI - 76 IP - 2 4099 - http://heart.bmj.com/content/76/2/150.short 4100 - http://heart.bmj.com/content/76/2/150.full SO - Heart1996 Aug 01; 76 AB - OBJECTIVE: To decrease pre-hospital delay in patients with chest pain. DESIGN: Population based, prospective observational study. SETTING: A province of Switzerland with 380000 inhabitants. SUBJECTS: All 1337 patients who presented with chest pain to the emergency department of the Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire of Geneva during the 12 months of a multimedia public campaign, and the 1140 patients who came with similar symptoms during the 12 months before the campaign started. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pre-hospital time delay and number of patients admitted to the hospital for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and unstable angina. RESULTS: Mean pre-hospital delay decreased from 7h 50 min before the campaign to 4 h 54 min during it, and median delay from 180 min to 155 min (P < 0.001). For patients with a final diagnosis of AMI, mean delay decreased from 9 h 10 min to 5 h 10 min and median delay from 195 min to 155 min (P < 0.002). Emergency department visits per week for AMI and unstable angina increased from 11.2 before the campaign to 13.2 during it (P < 0.02), with an increase to 27 (P < 0.01) during the first week of the campaign; visits per week for non-cardiac chest pain increased from 7.6 to 8.1 (P = NS) during the campaign, with an increase to 17 (P < 0.05) during its first week. CONCLUSIONS: Public campaigns may significantly reduce pre-hospital delay in patients with chest pain. Despite transient increases in emergency department visits for non-cardiac chest pain, such campaigns may significantly increase hospital visits for AMI and unstable angina and thus be cost effective.