While automated external defibrillators improve survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the use of AEDs in hospitals with cardiac arrest patients may not always correlate with improved survival, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study looked at 11,695 hospitalized patients who had cardiac arrests between Jan. 1, 2000, and Aug. 26, 2008, at 204 different U.S. hospitals after AEDs were introduced in the general hospital wards.
AEDs were used in nearly 39 percent of the patient sample. Overall, the rate of survival to hospital discharge was 16.3 percent among patients that received treatment from an AED and 19.3 percent among patients in which AEDs were not used.
However, researchers stated that patients who suffer cardiac arrest, especially nonshockable rhythms that may be out of an AED's control, may have underlying and more complex medical problems. Proper medical staff training of AEDs is another factor that must be taken into account, according to the study.
The study looked at 11,695 hospitalized patients who had cardiac arrests between Jan. 1, 2000, and Aug. 26, 2008, at 204 different U.S. hospitals after AEDs were introduced in the general hospital wards.
AEDs were used in nearly 39 percent of the patient sample. Overall, the rate of survival to hospital discharge was 16.3 percent among patients that received treatment from an AED and 19.3 percent among patients in which AEDs were not used.
However, researchers stated that patients who suffer cardiac arrest, especially nonshockable rhythms that may be out of an AED's control, may have underlying and more complex medical problems. Proper medical staff training of AEDs is another factor that must be taken into account, according to the study.
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