Abstract
[Introduction] Although earlier shock with an automated external defibrillator (AED) is the key to increase survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA), it is not easy to find out an AED in emergency settings. We recently developed a new smartphone application “AED-SOS.” This application sends a special signal to the smartphone of potential co-rescuers existing in the neighborhood and indicates the OHCA scene and AED locations on the display. According to these notifications, co-rescuers find out and deliver an AED to the OHCA scene. [Objective] To elucidate how this new application can shorten the process to find out an AED and bring it to the OHCA scene. [Methods] Design: Randomized controlled trial (UMIN000016506). Participants: Lay persons aged 18 years or older. Randomization: Participants were randomly assigned to either the AED-SOS group or the control group using permuted blocks after stratification by sex. Intervention: We provided an OHCA scenario to the study participants of both groups. Participants assigned to the AED-SOS group were encouraged to use the AED-SOS application. Data collection: We observed the process until the participants or their co-rescuers brought an AED to the scene. Outcomes: The primary outcome was the time from the recognition of OHCA to AED delivery by either the participant or the co-rescuers. The secondary outcome was their travel distance. [Results] Among 61 participants enrolled, 52 were analyzed. The time from recognition of OHCA to AED delivery was significantly shorter in the AED-SOS group than in the control group (133.6±44.4 versus 202.2±122.2, p=0.01). The travel distance was similar between the groups (Table). [Conclusion] The smartphone application to prompt potential co-rescuers in the neighborhood to deliver an AED, would shorten the time from recognition of OHCA to AED delivery. It will help increase the survivors after OHCA.
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