Efficacy of out of hospital defibrillation by ambulance technicians using automated external defibrillators. The Heartstart Scotland Project

Effect of reducing ambulance response times on deaths from out of hospital cardiac arrest: cohort study

“…In our study, 34% of patients in the test group did not receive defibrillation. The ambulances were equipped with automated defibrillators, which have been shown to administer shocks in 90-94% of patients in ventricular fibrillation 12. Therefore, the reason for not defibrillating in most cases was probably the presence of asystole or pulseless electrical activity (electromechanical dissociation) rather than inappropriate management.…”

Survival of 1476 patients initially resuscitated from out of hospital cardiac arrest

“…Automated external defibrillators have been installed in all emergency ambulances in Scotland since 1988-9, and the protocol and immediate outcome of resuscitations undertaken by the Scottish Ambulance Service have been reported 5 6 7. We determined the short and long term survival of patients after initially successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest out of hospital in Scotland and identified predictors of mortality after discharge from hospital.…”

The Automated External Defibrillator: Critical Link in the Chain of Survival

“…Experience to date (detailed below) has consistently demonstrated excellent sensitivity for the detection of VF, as well as specificity for the detection of rhythms not requiring shock therapy (7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Sensitivity for VF detection ranges from 96% to 100%, and specificity for non-VF rhythms is near 100% in various cardiac arrest situations (9)(10)(11)(12). On rare occasions, low-amplitude, fine VF was not detected by the AED.…”