Document Detail


Theoretical calculation of maximum attainable benefit of public access defibrillation in Belgium. Belgian Cardio Pulmonary Cerebral Resuscitation Study Group.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  9627065     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: Assuming that a lay person performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) will also use an automatic external defibrillator (AED) wherever available, we tried to estimate the maximal attainable benefit of public access defibrillation in some centres in Belgium. METHODS: We analysed retrospectively the data from the Belgian Cardio Pulmonary Cerebral Resuscitation Registry collected between 1991 and June 1996. The majority of these emergency medical service (EMS) systems are two-tiered with an early defibrillation program for the first tier and a physician-staffed second tier. RESULTS: The data show that, in 5543 registered cases, there were 1001 (18%) adults with non-traumatic ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia (VF/VT) as the first monitored rhythm. In this subgroup there were 419 (42%) cases who had lay CPR. The duration of lay CPR before the first defibrillation either by the first or the second tier is known in 357 cases. This duration was more than 5 min and 10 min, in 80% and 53% of the cases, respectively. The median (Q1, Q3) lay CPR duration was 11 (7, 15) min. Survival to hospital discharge in this subgroup was achieved in 80/357 (22%) patients. Using Weaver's linear model for survival after witnessed VF/VT, an estimated increase of more than 30% in survival rate was calculated. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that in our EMS system, laymen reach a substantial number of VF/VT victims many minutes before the arrival of the professional EMS teams. Therefore, a substantial increase in the number of survivors could be expected if lay responders were prepared to use an AED.
Authors:
P Martens; P Calle; O Vanhaute
Related Documents :
1691395 - Mechanism of antifibrillatory action of org 7797 in regionally ischemic pig heart.
2463575 - Late ventricular potentials and spontaneous and induced ventricular arrhythmias in dila...
3766375 - Electrophysiologic actions of pirmenol in dogs with recent myocardial infarction.
1601065 - The calcium channel antagonist, flunarizine, protects against ventricular fibrillation.
9630095 - Treatment of chronic mitral regurgitation.
7715215 - Pathogenesis of acute ischemic mitral regurgitation in three dimensions.
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Resuscitation     Volume:  36     ISSN:  0300-9572     ISO Abbreviation:  Resuscitation     Publication Date:  1998 Mar 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1998-08-14     Completed Date:  1998-08-14     Revised Date:  2009-08-25    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0332173     Medline TA:  Resuscitation     Country:  IRELAND    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  161-3     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, AZ St. Jan Ruddershove, Brugge, Belgium. pmartens@spoed.azbrugge.be
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Aged
Belgium / epidemiology
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / statistics & numerical data,  utilization*
Electric Countershock / statistics & numerical data,  utilization*
Emergency Medical Services / statistics & numerical data
Female
Heart Arrest / epidemiology,  etiology,  therapy*
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Middle Aged
Registries / statistics & numerical data
Retrospective Studies
Survival Rate
Tachycardia, Ventricular / complications,  therapy
Ventricular Fibrillation / complications,  therapy

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Epidemiology and survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in north-east Italy: The F.A.C.S. s...
Next Document:  Should a cancer patient be resuscitated following an in-hospital cardiac arrest?