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

Objective: To show whether in an in-hospital cardiac arrest, early defibril lation can also be performed by hospital staff trained only in basic life s upport. Background: The International Liaison Committer on Resuscitation (I LCOR) endorses the concept that in many settings non-medical individuals sh ould be allowed and encouraged to use defibrillators. Methods: Five differe nt groups of hospital staff were evaluated whether they were able to correc tly operate an automatic external defibrillator in a simulated sudden cardi ac arrest situation without any prior instruction. The participants were as signed either to the 'basic life support-trained' group (BLS, n = 40, or to the 'advanced life support-trained' group (ALS, n = 40). Results: All pers ons of the 'only BLS-trained' group delivered the three sequential ('stacke d') shocks with the automatic external defibrillator when persistent ventri cular fibrillation was simulated. The 'ALS-trained' persons successfully de livered the three shocks with the automatic external defibrillator in 98% o f the cases. When this group used a conventional defibrillator, only 88% we re able to deliver the three shocks, however they were able to do it signif icantly more quickly. Conclusion: Using an automatic defibrillator without any prior instruction, even persons trained only in BLS were able to delive r three sequential shocks in a simulated persistent ventricular fibrillatio n cardiac arrest. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserve d.