PGIMER Cardiac Triage Saves Lives, Improves Flow

A specialized cardiology triage unit at PGIMER, Chandigarh, has significantly improved emergency cardiac care by managing 3,049 patients in less than five months, from March 9 to July 29. This dedicated pathway allows for rapid assessment and appropriate routing of cardiac emergencies, easing the burden on the main hospital emergency services.

The unit's efforts resulted in 1,108 patients being admitted to the Coronary Care Unit and 1,513 receiving outpatient treatment and discharge. A small percentage were referred for non-cardiac issues or directed to other specialized clinics. Crucially, 26 urgent primary PCI procedures were facilitated.

PGIMER director Prof. Vivek Lal highlighted the structured pathway's effectiveness in early decision-making and resource utilization. The patient volume steadily increased, from about 100 weekly in March to over 200 by July. Despite this workload, the overall mortality rate remained commendably low at 0.5%, with only 16 deaths recorded during the analyzed period.

This experience demonstrates the value of dedicated cardiac triage in reducing unnecessary admissions, optimizing patient flow, and ensuring timely interventions for acute cardiac conditions. PGIMER suggests this model could be a scalable solution for other tertiary healthcare institutions.