Impact of limited English proficiency on presentation and outcomes of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Sinjini Biswas; Michael Seman; Nicholas Cox; Christopher Neil; Angela Brennan; Diem Dinh; Antony Walton; William Chan; Jeffrey Lefkovits; Christopher Reid; Dion Stub
Abstract
Doctor-patient language discordance has been shown to lead to worse clinical outcomes. In this study of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction at an Australian health service, we demonstrated that limited English proficiency (LEP) is an independent predictor of prolonged symptom-to-door time, but does not lead to worse 30-day mortality compared with English-proficient patients. More effort needs to be placed in providing public health education in varied languages to encourage early presentation to hospital for patients with LEP.
Journal INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL
ISSN 1445-5994
Published 01 Apr 2018
Volume 48
Issue 4
Pages 457-461
DOI 10.1111/imj.13751
Type Journal Article | Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Sponsorship