Is there any room for shortening hands-off time further when using an AED?
Resuscitation · 2008-12-27 · Randomised trial
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) play a very important role in out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The mandatory hands-off time imposed by current AEDs is not short enough to bring about the full benefits of rapid defibrillation with an AED into light. The aim of this study is to examine whether a change in the process of charging the capacity and removing explanations from the prompts of the AEDs shortens hands-off time. METHODS: The operating steps and the voice prompts of the current AEDs were reviewed and the time intervals between the steps and the voice prompts were measured. We modified an AED to fully precharge the capacitor and to contain more concise voice prompts. RESULTS: We had 42 expert rescuers and 50 lay-person rescuers perform 2-rescuer CPR with the modified AED and the old AED, respectively. Using the modified AED significantly reduced hands-off times by 9.95 s (95% CI: 9.67-10.23) in 2-rescuer CPR and by 10.68 s (95% CI: 9.75-11.61) in 1-rescuer CPR (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Full precharging of the capacitor and exclusion of explanations from the voice prompts of AEDs can shorten the hands-off time in both 1 and 2-rescuer CPR.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Automated external defibrillator
Related articles
- Superior-head automated external defibrillator placement during single-rescuer cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a randomized crossover simulation study and retrospective multicenter cohort. (Front Public Health, 2026)
- Deep Learning Strategy for Sliding ECG Analysis during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Influence of the Hands-Off Time on Accuracy. (Sensors (Basel), 2023)
- [Effects of automated external defibrillators on hands-off intervals in lay rescuers]. (Notf Rett Med, 2022)
- Pre-charging the defibrillator before rhythm analysis reduces hands-off time in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with shockable rhythm. (Resuscitation, 2021)
- CPR Guidance by an Emergency Physician via Video Call: A Simulation Study. (Emerg Med Int, 2018)
- Comparative performance assessment of commercially available automatic external defibrillators: A simulation and real-life measurement study of hands-off time. (Resuscitation, 2017)