Association of Hospital-Level Differences in Care With Outcomes Among Patients With Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in China

IMPORTANCE: The incidence of acute myocardial infarction has increased over the past decades in China, and management challenges include an unbalanced economy, disparate resources, and variable access to medical care across the nation. OBJECTIVE: To examine the variations in care and outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction among 3 levels of hospitals in the typical Chinese public hospital model. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used data from the China Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry to compare the differences in care and outcomes among patients at 108 hospitals from 31 provinces and municipalities throughout mainland China. Participants included patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction directly admitted to hospitals between January 2013 and September 2014. Data analyses were performed from June 2015 to June 2019. EXPOSURES: Care in province-level, prefecture-level, or county-level hospitals in China. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included presentation, treatments, and major complications. RESULTS: A total of 12 695 patients (9593 men [75.6%]; median [interquartile range] age, 63 [54-72] years) were included; 3985 were at province-level hospitals, 6731 were at prefecture-level hospitals, and 1979 were at county-level hospitals. Compared with patients admitted to province-level hospitals, those admitted to prefecture-level and county-level hospitals were older (median [interquartile range] age, 61 [52-70] years vs 63 [54-72] years and 65 [57-75] years) and more likely to be women (815 women [20.5%] vs 1620 women [24.1%] and 667 women [33.7%]). Patients in prefecture-level and county-level hospitals were less likely to use ambulances compared with patients at province-level hospitals (11.6% [95% CI, 10.8%-12.4%] and 12.0% [95% CI, 10.6%-13.5%] vs 19.4% [95% CI, 18.1%-20.7%]; P < .001) and were less likely to experience early presentation, with onset-to-arrival times less than 12 hours for 75.3% (95% CI, 73.9%-76.6%) of patients at province-level hospitals, 70.8% (95% CI, 69.7%-71.9%) of patients at prefecture-level hospitals, and 69.8% (95% CI, 67.7%-71.8%) of patients at county-level hospitals (P < .001). The rates of reperfusion therapy were significantly lower in low-level hospitals (54.3% [95% CI, 53.1%-55.5%] for prefecture-level hospitals and 45.8% [95% CI, 43.6%-48.1%] for county-level hospitals) compared with province-level hospitals (69.4% [95% CI, 67.9%-70.8%]; P < .001). There was a progressively higher rate of in-hospital mortality at the 3 levels of hospitals: 3.1% (95% CI, 2.6%-3.7%) for province-level hospitals, 5.3% (95% CI, 4.8%-5.9%) for prefecture-level hospitals, and 10.2% (95% CI, 8.9%-11.7%) for county-level hospitals (P for trend < .001). After adjustment for patient characteristics, presentation, hospital facility, and treatments, the odds of death remained higher in prefecture-level (odds ratio, 1.39 [95% CI, 1.06-1.84]) and county-level (odds ratio, 1.43 [95% CI, 0.97-2.11]) hospitals compared with province-level hospitals (P for trend = .04). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These findings suggest that there are significant variations in care and outcomes of patients among the 3 levels of hospitals in China. More efforts should be made to address the identified gaps, particularly in the prefecture-level and county-level hospitals. This work can inform national quality improvements efforts in China and in other developing countries.