Ambulance Diversion Increases Mortality in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Diversion duration ≥12 hours at the nearest emergency department was associated with excess mortality during 1 year among California Medicare patients admitted with AMI.

To determine whether ambulance diversion is associated with all-cause mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), researchers reviewed data for 11,625 Medicare patients with AMI who were admitted to hospitals in four populous counties in California between 2000 and 2005.

The researchers defined four durations of diversion at the nearest emergency department (ED) on the day that a patient was admitted: none (3541 patients), <6 hours (3357 patients), 6 to 12 hours (2667 patients), and ≥12 hours (2060 patients). Mean daily diversion time was 7.9 hours. Mortality rates during 1 year were similar among patients whose nearest ED was not on diversion, on diversion for 6 hours, and on diversion for 6 to 12 hours. However, mortality…

Reviewing Author

John A. Marx, MD, FAAEM