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Mobile Versus Fixed Deployment of Automated External Defibrillators in Rural EMS
- R. Darrell Nelson, William Bozeman, Greg Collins, Brian Booe, Todd Baker, Roy Alson
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- Journal:
- Prehospital and Disaster Medicine / Volume 30 / Issue 2 / April 2015
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 27 February 2015, pp. 152-154
- Print publication:
- April 2015
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Introduction
There is no consensus on where automated external defibrillators (AEDs) should be placed in rural communities to maximize impact on survival from cardiac arrest. In the community of Stokes County, North Carolina (USA) the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system promotes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) public education and AED use with public access defibrillators (PADs) placed mainly in public schools, churches, and government buildings.
Hypothesis/ProblemThis study tested the utilization of AEDs assigned to first responders (FRs) in their private-owned-vehicle (POV) compared to AEDs in fixed locations.
MethodsThe authors performed a prospective, observational study measuring utilization of AEDs carried by FRs in their POV compared to utilization of AEDs in fixed locations. Automated external defibrillator utilization is activation with pads placed on the patient and analysis of heart rhythm to determine if shock/no-shock is indicated. The Institutional Review Board of Wake Forest University Baptist Health System approved the study and written informed consent was waived. The study began on December 01, 2012 at midnight and ended on December 01, 2013 at midnight.
ResultsDuring the 12-month study period, 81 community AEDs were in place, 66 in fixed locations and 15 assigned to FRs in their POVs. No utilizations of the 66 fixed location AEDs were reported (0.0 utilizations/AED/year) while 19 utilizations occurred in the FR POV AED study group (1.27 utilizations/AED/year; P<.0001). Odds ratio of using a FR POV located AED was 172 times more likely than using a community fixed-location AED in this rural community.
DiscussionPlacing AEDs in a rural community poses many challenges for optimal utilization in terms of cardiac arrest occurrences. Few studies exist to direct rural community efforts in placing AEDs where they can be most effective, and it has been postulated that placing them directly with FRs may be advantageous.
ConclusionsIn this rural community, the authors found that placing AED devices with FRs in their POVs resulted in a statistically significant increase in utilizations over AED fixed locations.
,Nelson RD ,Bozeman W ,Collins G ,Booe B ,Baker T .Alson R Mobile Versus Fixed Deployment of Automated External Defibrillators in Rural EMS . Prehosp Disaster Med.2015 ;30 (2 ):1 -3 .
Contributors
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- By Graham Allan, Donna M. Allen, Irwin Altman, Arthur Aron, Donald H. Baucom, Steven R. H. Beach, Ellen Berscheid, Rosemary Blieszner, Jeffrey Boase, Tyfany M. J. Boettcher, Barbara B. Brown, Abraham P. Buunk, Lorne Campbell, Daniel J. Canary, Rodney Cate, John P. Caughlin, Mahnaz Charania, Jennie Y. Chen, F. Scott Christopher, Jennifer A. Clarke, Marilyn Coleman, W. Andrew Collins, Michael K. Coolsen, Nathan R. Cottle, Carolyn E. Cutrona, Marianne Dainton, Valerian J. Derlega, Lisa M. Diamond, Pieternel Dijkstra, Steve Duck, Pearl A. Dykstra, Norman B. Epstein, Beverley Fehr, Frank D. Fincham, Helen E. Fisher, Julie Fitness, Garth J. O. Fletcher, Myron D. Friesen, Lawrence Ganong, Kelli A. Gardner, Jenny de Jong Gierveld, Robin Goodwin, Christine R. Gray, Kathryn Greene, David W. Harris, Willard W. Hartup, John H. Harvey, Kathi L. Heffner, Ted L. Huston, William J. Ickes, Emily A. Impett, Michael P. Johnson, Deborah J. Jones, Deborah A. Kashy, Janice K. Kiecolt‐Glaser, Jeffrey L. Kirchner, Brighid M. Kleinman, Galena H. Kline, Mark L. Knapp, Ascan Koerner, Jean‐Philippe Laurenceau, Kim Leon, Timothy J. Loving, Stephanie D. Madsen, Howard J. Markman, Alicia Mathews, Mario Mikulincer, Patricia Noller, Nickola C. Overall, Letitia Anne Peplau, Daniel Perlman, Sally Planalp, Urmila Pillay, Nicole D. Pleasant, Caryl E. Rusbult, Barbara R. Sarason, Irwin G. Sarason, Phillip R. Shaver, Alan L. Sillars, Jeffry A. Simpson, Susan Sprecher, Susan Stanton, Greg Strong, Catherine A. Surra, Anita L. Vangelisti, C. Arthur VanLear, Theo van Tilburg, Barry Wellman, Amy Wenzel, Carol M. Werner, Adam R. West, Sarah W. Whitton, Heike A. Winterheld
- Edited by Anita L. Vangelisti, University of Texas, Austin, Daniel Perlman, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
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- Book:
- The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 05 June 2006, pp xvii-xxii
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