Conclusions
There is no question but that early defibrillation will save lives. Despite the existence of well-developed emergency medical services with rapid-response advanced life support capabilities, survival rates following out-of-hospital VF have remained low. Generally, these poor resuscitation rates are attributed to delays in the performance of basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation by bystanders or delays in defibrillation.
The appropriateness of having defibrillators available in public places such as schools, apartment buildings, and offices is becoming clear. The PAD trial has demonstrated that training and equipping volunteers to attempt early defibrillation within a structured response system can increase the number of survivors to hospital discharge after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in public locations. In airports, aeroplanes, casinos, and other high-risk locations, public use of external defibrillators should be strongly supported. In addition, efforts by private individuals to obtain defibrillators for homes and businesses seem justified. Dual EMS systems incorporating defibrillators have also shown good improvements in outcomes compared to EMS alone. In our opinion, public access defibrillation is here to stay.
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Capucci, A., Aschieri, D., Villani, G.Q. (2006). Public Access Defibrillation: How Widespread Is It and What Are the Short-Term and Long-Term Results?. In: Raviele, A. (eds) Cardiac Arrhythmias 2005. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/88-470-0371-7_56
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