Intermediate
Technical
In the Industry Vocabulary Test
door-to-balloon time
Time interval from hospital arrival to percutaneous coronary intervention for STEMI patients.
Full Definition
Door-to-balloon time is a critical quality metric measuring the elapsed time from a STEMI patient's arrival at the hospital to inflation of the angioplasty balloon during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Current guidelines recommend a door-to-balloon time of 90 minutes or less for optimal outcomes. This metric is closely monitored as a key performance indicator for emergency cardiac care, as delays in reperfusion directly correlate with increased mortality and morbidity in STEMI patients.
Usage
Usage note: Always hyphenate; distinguish from door-to-needle time for thrombolytic therapy.
In Context
- "The hospital achieved a median door-to-balloon time of 75 minutes." — Quality improvement report
- "Door-to-balloon time exceeded 90 minutes due to catheterization lab delays." — Incident analysis
Also known as
D2B time
door-to-device time
Don't confuse with
door-to-needle time
symptom-to-balloon time