Systematic downloading and analysis of data from automated external defibrillators used in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Abstract

AEDs used by laypersons revealed a higher proportion of shockable rhythms compared to the EMS rhythm analyses.

Public Access Defibrillation: Great benefit and potential but infrequently used

“…[31][32][33] Our findings is in accordance with another study conducted in Copenhagen which recently showed that publicly accessible AEDs detected an initial shockable rhythm in 55% of OHCA-cases compared with only 27.6% in the cases where the initial rhythm was detected by the EMS. 13 …”

“…13 Each time an AED is applied by a bystander prior to arrival of the ambulance, the AED is brought to the EMD in Copenhagen in order to retrieve the stored data. The data are transmitted to the admitting hospital and the AED is returned to the owner.…”

Automated external defibrillator use in public places: a study of acquisition time

“…It is estimated that one in three patients survive when the arrest is witnessed by a trustee able to provide basic life support. Moreover, a 30-day survival rate improvement was achieved mainly among patients who had received bystander CPR [8,9]. Survival is crucially dependent on reducing the delay of administering shock delivery.…”

Public access defibrillation: emerging importance of automated external defibrillators as a diagnostic clinical tool

“…The use of public access automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has rapidly increased from 2003 to 2013 — with an 11‐fold growth in Victoria — and has shown improvement in survival rates for out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest 1 . Prompt deployment relies on lay people to recognise a cardiac arrest, operate the device and manage basic life support 2 . Lay people's use of these devices located in public locations, as opposed to specialised health care settings, is unparalleled among medical devices.…”

“…Specific equipment operated by trained personnel is required to download the rhythm data from the AED 2 . Standardised data transmission software, either via smartphone or cellular networks, to a central server or at the hospital may fill this current critical data void.…”