New Studies Show Value of Portable Defibrillators

Studies on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) by lay people in crowded public places show that they have saved many lives that otherwise would have been lost to sudden cardiac arrest. The studies also showed that to be useful, the AEDs must be close at hand and must be used very quickly. The findings were reported in the October 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

In a study conducted in gambling casinos, involving 105 patients treated by nonmedical personnel trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of AEDs, 74% of adults who experienced ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest survived--if they received defibrillation within three minutes. It was the largest study to prove that the shortest time to defibrillation produces the highest survival rates. Of other casino patients who received defibrillation after three minutes, 49% survived. The overall survival rate of treated patients was 53%. Survival rates of cardiac arrest victims in large urban areas range from 15-35%.

A second study analyzed the use of defibrillators by American Airlines personnel on 200 passengers, most of whom had a nonlethal condition. Six of 15 passengers (40%) with documented or presumed ventricular fibrillation who were treated with AEDs survived to be discharged at full functional capacity. About 30 of the world's airlines now carry defibrillators aboard and they are also available in many airline terminals.

"We all should work to assure that each community has a targeted first responder defibrillation program that makes AEDs more easily and quickly available,” said Terence D. Valenzuela, M.D., professor in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Arizona (Tucson, USA) and one of the authors of the casino study. "AEDs should be as handy as fire extinguishers in all public places.”