Summary of study and patient characteristics by reperfusion strategy
| Overall | Percutaneous coronary intervention | In-hospital thrombolysis | Prehospital thrombolysis | Reperfusion strategy not specified | |
| Total patients | 125 243 | 67 412 | 34 862 | 8347 | 3349 |
| Total studies | 100 | 59 | 18 | 36 | 6 |
| Study design, n (%) | |||||
| Randomised controlled trials | 15 (15) | 7 (12) | 5 (28) | 8 (22) | 0 (0) |
| Observational studies | 85 (85) | 52 (88) | 13 (72) | 28 (78) | 6 (100) |
| Continent, n (%) | |||||
| North America | 40 (40) | 25 (42.4) | 5 (27.8) | 9 (25) | 5 (83.3) |
| Europe | 53 (53) | 31 (52.5) | 12 (66.7) | 24 (66.7) | 1 (16.7) |
| Asia Pacific | 7 (7) | 3 (5.1) | 1 (5.5) | 3 (8.3) | 0 (0) |
| Year of publication, median (IQR) | 2009 (2005, 2013) | 2011 (2009, 2014) | 2005 (2002, 2009) | 2004 (1994, 2009) | 2012 (2006, 2015) |
| Urban classification, n (%) | |||||
| Urban | 54 (54) | 31 (52.6) | 6 (33.3) | 17 (47.2) | 5 (83.3) |
| Rural | 20 (20) | 12 (20.3) | 7 (38.9) | 9 (25) | 0 (0) |
| Mixed urban/rural | 26 (26) | 16 (27.1) | 5 (27.8) | 10 (27.8) | 1 (16.7) |
| Skill level of attending ambulance, n (%) | |||||
| Physician | 28 (28) | 20 (33.9) | 3 (16.7) | 13 (36.1) | 1 (16.7) |
| Paramedic/EMT/other | 72 (72) | 39 (66.1) | 15 (83.3) | 23 (63.9) | 5 (83.3) |
| Method of ECG interpretation, n (%) | |||||
| In-field | 56 (56) | 37 (62.7) | 6 (33.3) | 19 (52.8) | 6 (100) |
| Transmission | 44 (44) | 22 (37.3) | 12 (66.7) | 17 (47.2) | 0 (0) |
| Patient age, weighted mean (95% CI)* | 62.3 (61.8 to 62.8) | 62.7 (62.2 to 63.2) | 66.2 (57.2 to 75.1) | 60.8 (59.6 to 62.0) | 63.0 (62.5 to 63.5) |
| Proportion male, weighted mean (95% CI)† | 74.2 (72.8 to 75.5) | 73.4 (72.1 to 74.8) | 71.5 (56.9 to 86.0) | 75.7 (72.8 to 78.6) | 71.0 (63.8 to 78.2) |
| Proportion died up to 30 days, weighted mean (95% CI)‡ | 5.1 (4.3 to 6.0) | 4.1 (3.6 to 4.6) | 8.3 (8.0 to 8.6) | 5.1 (4.2 to 5.9) | 2.1 (1.6 to 2.7) |
| Treatment delay in minutes, weighted mean (95% CI) [n] | |||||
| Total ischaemic time | 152 (138 to 165) [9543] | 181 (171 to 191) [6914] | 174 (140 to 208) [604] | 112 (103 to 121) [2017] | – |
| FMC-to-reperfusion time | – | 96 (93 to 99) [37 415] | – | 29 (26 to 31) [4955] | – |
| FMC-to-door time | 45 (43 to 47) [104 060] | 41 (29 to 53) [42 490] | 48 (37 to 59) [639] | 63 (56 to 71) [2414] | – |
| Door-to-reperfusion time | 56 (50 to 63) [79 720] | 57 (54 to 60) [45 179] | 38 (31 to 44) [34 458] | – | – |
Total ischaemic time was defined as the time in minutes between symptom onset and reperfusion treatment as reported by the included studies.
*Reported in 61 368 (49%) of total patients.
†Reported in 49 406 (40%) of total patients.
‡Reported in 111 789 (88%) of total patients.
EMT, emergency medical technician; FMC, first medical contact.