Early inter-hospital transfer of patients with myocardial infarction without a doctor, paramedic or nurse on board: results from a French regional emergency care network.

Background: In France, patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are usually transferred from remote hospitals to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centres in mobile intensive care units (MICUs) with on-board medical staff. They are then returned to the remote hospitals by MICU 48 h after PCI. However, MICU transportation and beds in a PCI centre are in short supply.