Successful automatic external defibrillator operation by people trained only in basic life support in a simulated cardiac arrest situation

Abstract

Objective: To show whether in an in-hospital cardiac arrest, early defibrillation can also be performed by hospital staff trained only in basic life support. Background: The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) endorses the concept that in many settings non-medical individuals should be allowed and encouraged to use defibrillators. Methods: Five different groups of hospital staff were evaluated whether they were able to correctly operate an automatic external defibrillator in a simulated sudden cardiac arrest situation without any prior instruction. The participants were assigned either to the ‘basic life support-trained’ group (BLS, n=40) or to the ‘advanced life support-trained’ group (ALS, n=40). Results: All persons of the ‘only BLS-trained’ group delivered the three sequential (‘stacked’) shocks with the automatic external defibrillator when persistent ventricular fibrillation was simulated. The ‘ALS-trained’ persons successfully delivered the three shocks with the automatic external defibrillator in 98% of the cases. When this group used a conventional defibrillator, only 88% were able to deliver the three shocks, however they were able to do it significantly more quickly. Conclusion: Using an automatic defibrillator without any prior instruction, even persons trained only in BLS were able to deliver three sequential shocks in a simulated persistent ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest.