Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jun 1;29(3):168-174.
doi: 10.1097/MCC.0000000000001051. Epub 2023 Apr 24.

Public access defibrillation: challenges and new solutions

Fredrik Folke  1   2   3 , Persia Shahriari  1   2 , Carolina Malta Hansen  1   4 , Mads Christian Tofte Gregers  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Public access defibrillation: challenges and new solutions

Fredrik Folke et al. Curr Opin Crit Care. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: The purpose of this article is to review the current status of public access defibrillation and the various utility modalities of early defibrillation.

Recent findings: Defibrillation with on-site automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has been the conventional approach for public access defibrillation. This strategy is highly effective in cardiac arrests occurring in close proximity to on-site AEDs; however, only a few cardiac arrests will be covered by this strategy. During the last decades, additional strategies for public access defibrillation have developed, including volunteer responder programmes and drone assisted AED-delivery. These programs have increased chances of early defibrillation within a greater radius, which remains an important factor for survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Summary: Recent advances in the use of public access defibrillation show great potential for optimizing early defibrillation. With new technological solutions, AEDs can be transported to the cardiac arrest location reaching OHCAs in both public and private locations. Furthermore, new technological innovations could potentially identify and automatically alert the emergency medical services in nonwitnessed OHCA previously left untreated.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Box 1
Box 1
no caption available
FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
A theoretical graph of potential survival and proportion of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest reached according to type of early defibrillation strategy. AED, automated external defibrillator; EMS, emergency medical services; OHCA, Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Different innovative approaches to public access defibrillation. Reprinted with permission from [▪▪].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Benjamin EJ, Virani SS, Callaway CW, et al. . Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2018 Update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation 2018; 137:e67–e492. - PubMed
    1. Hallstrom AP, Ornato JP, Weisfeldt M, et al. . Public-access defibrillation and survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med 2004; 351:637–646. - PubMed
    1. Hasselqvist-Ax I, Riva G, Herlitz J, et al. . Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med 2015; 372:2307–2315. - PubMed
    1. Coute RA, Mader TJ, Kurz MC. Evaluation of National Institutes of Health cardiac arrest research based on ‘chain of survival’ links. Acad Emerg Med 2022; 29:1381–1382. - PubMed
    1. Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiac care. Emergency Cardiac Care Committee and Subcommittees, American Heart Association. Part II. Adult basic life support. JAMA 1992; 268:2184–2198. - PubMed

Publication types