effects of covid-19 pandemic on the treatment management of st-elevation myocardial infarction

Background: the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) in early 2020 has affected reperfusion time in patients with st-segment elevation myocardial infarction (stemi) across the globe.aim: the present study aimed to assess the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the treatment management of stemi.method: this quantitative cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study investigated medical records of all patients (n=279) with stemi who were consecutively admitted to heshmatieh hospital in sabzevar city and underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (ppci) in the last 9 months of 2019 (from april to december) as pre-pandemic group (n=161) and the same period in 2020 as post-pandemic group (n=118). the data collection tools were a demographic information form and a checklist for recording treatment information.results: the average times from the symptom onset to first medical contact (fmc) and from fmc to the commencement of ppci were significantly increased in the post-pandemic group, compared to those in the pre-pandemic group (870.50±1397.48 versus 348.80±399.20 min and 73.23±91.87 versus 52.68±27.46 min, respectively). the mean length of stay was reduced after the intervention in the post-pandemic group. despite the reduction in the number of stemi patients’ referrals in the post-covid-19 pandemic period, the comparison of the referral of patients by month showed no significant difference between the two study groups before and after the covid-19 pandemic.implications for practice: the covid-19 pandemic caused treatment delay and reduced hospital stay among stemi patients. the results of this study can be used to inform the community and better manage time-dependent diseases, such as stemi, in the future.