A public access defibrillation programme in non-inpatient hospital areas

Strategies for Improving Survival After In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in the United States: 2013 Consensus Recommendations

“…5 Implementation of a public access defibrillation program at a tertiary care hospital included targeted placement of AEDs in areas where time from arrest to arrival of a defibrillator would be >3 minutes, including time spent in parking garages and on walkways between buildings. 75 In a study of 439 patients with IHCA, a program to equip and train nurses outside of the ICU setting to use AEDs resulted in an 86% rate of ROSC for patients with pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT)/VF and a 47% rate of survival to hospital discharge. 76 In another study, placement of AEDs in 14 locations that could be easily reached from all wards and diagnostic rooms within 30 seconds was combined with a 2-hour AED training program for medical officers, nurses, and administrative and technical staff.…”

Automated external defibrillators in the hospital: A case of medical reversal

“…That response came in a 2013 Scientific Statement on inhospital resuscitation, in a section on AEDs [7]. Within that section, 62% of the text is devoted to making the argument for AEDs in the hospital and summarizing the positive observational reports discussed previously (with the addition of one that did not involve inpatients [24]), while failing to mention two observational studies that corroborated the Chan study [5,6]. The remainder dealt with the Chan study, but most of it (82 0f 143 words, or 57%) was used to cast doubt on the negative results, including the claim that "it is likely that AEDs were placed in areas less well served by the cardiac arrest team, representing a potential selection bias"-despite the study's finding that "relationships between AED use and survival were consistent in monitored and nonmonitored hospital units for each rhythm type."…”

Commotio cordis: A review

“…28 A survival rate of just 15% is reported after the production of ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest, with survival strongly associated with prompt resuscitation and use of defibrillators. 4,29 Therefore, automatic external defibrillators have been distributed in increasing numbers at sporting events, [30][31][32][33][34] which have helped to revive such victims, along with timely initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. 35 In general, the treatment emphasis is upon providing basic and advanced life support measures.…”