The availability, condition and employability of automated external defibrillators in large city centres in the Netherlands

Abstract

Background: In the Netherlands there are, at the time of writing, no clear guidelines about the implementation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). An observational study was conducted to investigate the current status of AEDs in city centres in the Netherlands looking specifically at the availability, condition and employability of the AEDs.

Methods and results: The shopping areas in the old city centres of the six largest cities in the Netherlands were included in the study. After the AEDs had been identified, a questionnaire was used to determine the availability, condition and employability of the AED. In total 130 AEDs were found and 122 included in the study. The following results were found: 40% of the AEDs were not visible (range 21-64), 29% were not indicated with a sign (range 19-41), 7% had an empty battery (range 0-23), 16% of the defipads had expired (range 0-31) and in 98% of the AEDs a trained employee was present (range 96-100). After combining these results, 71% of the AEDs were available for use (range 61-93), 70% were in a good condition (range 46-82) and 70% were employable (range 58-93). The results show a major variability between cities.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that although national guidelines have not been implemented, a reasonable amount of AEDs can be found. However there is certainly room for improvement in the current availability, condition and employability of AEDs in city centres in the Netherlands.

Keywords: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Defibrillation; Defibrillators; Heart arrest.