Authors: Adams, Bruce D.¹; Carr, Barb²; Raez, Abigail²; Hunter, Curtis J.²

Source: Military Medicine, Volume 174, Number 6, June 2009 , pp. 584-587(4)

Publisher: AMSUS - Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Abstract:

ABSTRACT

Objective time to defibrillation (t_defib) directly correlates with survival from cardiac arrest. We investigated whether automated external defibrillators (AED) in a combat setting would improve this crucial variable. Methods: We performed a randomized simulation study to compare two systems of cardiac arrest response: public access AED vs. standard manual defibrillation. The study was conducted in two phases at two different settings: (1) in a contiguous United States (CONUS)-based training combat support hospital (CSH) and (2) at a deployed CSH within a combat forward operating base (FOB). The primary outcome was t_defib and the secondary outcome was difficulty of use. Results: For the training CSH setting, t_defib the AED model was significantly faster than the conventional model (1.3 vs. 2.0 minutes, p < 0.001, 95% CI of the mean difference = 0.39-1.1). In the combat environment, t_defib was between 2.2 and 8.4 minutes faster for the AED system. The AED system was found to be significantly easier to use than the standard model. Conclusion: In simulated cardiac arrest, the AED model demonstrated significantly improved t_defib compared to the standard response for both training and combat settings.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Clinical Investigation, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, 5005 North Piedras Street, El Paso, TX 79920-5001. 2: Department of Emergency Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center, 3851 Roger Brooke Drive, San Antonio, TX 78234.

Publication date: 2009-06-01

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• Military Medicine is the Association's official monthly journal. The objective of the Journal is to promote awareness of Federal medicine by providing a forum for responsible discussion of common ideas and problems relevant to Federal healthcare. Its mission is: To increase healthcare education by providing scientific and other information to its readers; to facilitate communication; and to offer a prestige publication for members' writings.
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