Public-Access Defibrillation Is Effective — But There's Room for Improvement!

Survival with good neurologic outcome was twice as high in patients who received initial shocks from public-access defibrillators than in those who did not, yet only 16.5% of potentially eligible patients were treated.

Japan began a public-access defibrillation (PAD) program in 2004, and since then, the number of publicly available automated external defibrillators (AEDs) increased from 11,000 in 2005 to 430,000 in 2013. While prior studies have demonstrated improved survival from PAD (NEJM JW Emerg Med Sep 2015 and JAMA 2015; 314:247; NEJM JW Emerg Med Jan 2015 and Circulation 2014; 130:1868; NEJM JW Emerg Med Aug 2016 and Resuscitation 2016; 105:182), this study is among the first to evaluate outcomes on a national level.

Using a prospective registry of atraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in Japan, researchers identified patients with witnessed OHCA and a first documented rhythm of ventricular fibrillation who were treated by emergency med…

Reviewing Author

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Public-Access Defibrillation Is Effective — But There's Room for Improvement!

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Reviewing Author