Sensitivity and specificity of an automated external defibrillator algorithm designed for pediatric patients

Accurate Detection of Paediatric Ventricular Tachycardia in AED

“…Several records from the same patient were included in the same rhythm type when the morphology of the arrhythmias was different. This procedure is contrary to the AHA statement; however, all studies on the use of SAA in children have allowed rhythm repetition because paediatric ventricular arrhythmias are scarce (Atkins et al, 2008;Atkinson et al, 2003;Cecchin et al, 2001;Irusta & Ruiz, 2009). …”

“…Each AED manufacturer compiles its own data, which must include paediatric rhythms if the AED will be used to treat children. However, the studies describing paediatric databases (Atkins et al, 2008;Atkinson et al, 2003;Cecchin et al, 2001) report fewer shockable rhythms than those specified in the AHA statement because paediatric ventricular arrhythmias are scarce.…”

“…Although the AHA includes SVT among the other nonshockable rhythms (see table 1), we have added an individual SVT category because adult SAA may fail to detect high-rate paediatric SVT (Atkins et al, 2008) accurately. Although the complete database is initially described, the SVT/VT subset was extracted to study VT discrimination.…”

“…Accurate discrimination between SVT and VT is crucial in order to adapt adult SAA for paediatric use (Atkins et al, 2008;Irusta & Ruiz, 2009). Consequently, the SVT/VT subset was extracted from the collected data in order to analyze the accurate detection of VT in the context of a SAA.…”

“…However, those studies failed to meet AHA criteria for shockable paediatric VT. In 2008, a third study showed that a SAA designed for adult patients did not meet AHA criteria for nonshockable paediatric supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) (Atkins et al, 2008). This study suggested that the specificity of SAA originally designed for adult patients could fail to meet AHA performance goals for paediatric SVT.…”