Public Access To Automated External Defibrillators

Author : Patrick J. Mullen
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 61 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (775 download)

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Download or read book A Community Needs Assessment for Public Access Defibrillation written by Patrick J. Mullen and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent technological advances in computer and electronics design have enabled medical device manufacturers to develop lightweight, intrinsically simple automatic external defibrillators (AED). Simple to operate, minimally trained non-medical personnel may successfully operate these devices. Due to their proven accuracy and reliability in treating sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), the American Heart Association recognizes them as essential in treating victims of sudden cardiac arrest in certain situations. Because of these factors, AEDs have gained in popularity among municipal service providers as well as private industry as a means to broaden the availability of defibrillation to the general populace and to reduce the time it takes to bring a defibrillator to the side of a stricken patient. Acknowledging that the City of Naperville has yet to develop a program to promote public access defibrillation (PAD) within the community, research was undertaken through descriptive method to conduct an assessment to evaluate the need for implementing a PAD program in Naperville. The project attempted to answer the following questions. 1. What is the prevalence of sudden cardiac arrest patients treated by the Naperville Fire Department? 2. What are the essential components of a public access defibrillation program? 3. What community groups should be considered for inclusion in an implementation plan? 4. What have other organizations done to successfully implement public access defibrillation programs? Research procedures combined the use of two retrospective studies and a survey questionnaire. One study consisted of a three-year review of patient care reports to determine the location of sudden cardiac arrest events treated by fire department personnel. A second look-back study sought to quantify cardiac arrest survival data for patients treated in 1999. The third research effort included the distribution of a survey questionnaire to organizations, both public and private, that had previously implemented PAD programs. Results indicated that the Naperville Fire Department demonstrated a hospital discharge rate of 5.8 percent for individuals treated for out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. This contrasted with a successful resuscitation rate of 15.15 percent reported by questionnaire survey participants using AEDs. Despite the posting a relatively rapid response time for ALS services to SCA events (averaging 3:25 minutes), most cardiac arrest patients treated by Naperville paramedics presented with an initial EKG of asystole. The majority of arrests occurred in the home (62.24%) and appeared to result from a cardiac etiology 84.06 percent of the time. Based upon the demonstrated survival rate and the apparent successes of police agencies' participating in the survey, recommendations were made to promote the implementation of a PAD program. With the Fire Department serving as the lead agency, target priorities for deployment included police department patrol vehicles, appropriate public access government buildings, institutional residential care occupancies, and large corporate campuses. [STAR#: 112804].