Automated External Defibrillator Geolocalization with a Mobile Application, Verbal Assistance or No Assistance: A Pilot Randomized Simulation (AED G-MAP)

The role of bystander CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: what the evidence tells us

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a global public health problem. Lay bystanders witness almost half of OHCA, so early recognition is critical to allow immediate initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by the bystander. The present investigation aims to analyze the most recent scientific evidence of the effect of bystander CPR on survival after an OHCA. A systematic literature review was carried out at the "Web of Science," "Scopus," and "PubMed" databases, including publications from the last 20 years. After inclusion/exclusion criteria, 37 articles were identified. Results indicate that patients who receive CPR are more likely to survive than those who don't, and CPR is associated with a good quality of life post-OHCA. Emphasis should be placed on practicing chest compressions only when the bystander has not mastered the artificial ventilation technique. Finding an AED is the first step to using it in an OHCA situation. Correct use of an AED by laypeople is associated with nearly double the survival rate after an OHCA when compared to standard CPR. It is important to promote CPR and AED training to non-professionals, such as community residents and youth, as training is associated with higher success rates of effective CPR-AED. A mobile phone positioning system to recruit trained laypeople or text message alerts to send citizen volunteers as well as assistance through a mobile app appear to have significant advantages in practicing effective CPR. The benefits of bystander CPR outweigh the risk of injury to victims, highlighting the need to disseminate training to laypeople.

Advancements in Public First Responder Programs for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: An Updated Literature Review

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a leading cause of death worldwide, with a low survival rate of around 7% globally. Key factors for improving survival include witnessed arrest, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and early defibrillation. Despite guidelines advocating for the "chain of survival", bystander CPR and defibrillation rates remain suboptimal. Innovative approaches, such as dispatcher-assisted CPR (DA-CPR) and smartphone-based alerts, have emerged to address these challenges. DA-CPR effectively transforms emergency callers into lay rescuers, and smartphone apps are increasingly being used to alert volunteer first responders to OHCA incidents, enhancing response times and increasing survival rates. Smartphone-based systems offer advantages over traditional text messaging by providing real-time guidance and automated external defibrillator (AED) locations. Studies show improved outcomes with app-based alerts, including higher rates of early CPR, increased survival rates and improved neurological outcomes. Additionally, the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to deliver AEDs rapidly to OHCA sites has been demonstrated, particularly in rural areas with extended emergency medical services response times. Despite technological advancements, challenges such as ensuring responder training, effective dispatching, and maintaining responder well-being, particularly during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, remain. During the pandemic, some community first responder programs were suspended or modified due to shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and increased risks of infection. However, systems that adapted by using PPE and revising protocols generally maintained responder participation and effectiveness. Moving forward, integrating new technology within robust responder systems and support mechanisms will be essential to improving OHCA outcomes and sustaining effective response networks.

2024 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations: Summary From the Basic Life Support; Advanced Life Support; Pediatric Life Support; Neonatal Life Support; Education, Implementation, and Teams; and First Aid Task Forces

This is the eighth annual summary of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations; a more comprehensive review was done in 2020. This latest summary addresses the most recent published resuscitation evidence reviewed by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task force science experts. Members from 6 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task forces have assessed, discussed, and debated the quality of the evidence, using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria, and their statements include consensus treatment recommendations. Insights into the deliberations of the task forces are provided in the Justification and Evidence-to-Decision Framework Highlights sections. In addition, the task forces list priority knowledge gaps for further research.

2024 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations: Summary From the Basic Life Support; Advanced Life Support; Pediatric Life Support; Neonatal Life Support; Education, Implementation, and Teams; and First Aid Task Forces

This is the eighth annual summary of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations; a more comprehensive review was done in 2020. This latest summary addresses the most recent published resuscitation evidence reviewed by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task force science experts. Members from 6 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task forces have assessed, discussed, and debated the quality of the evidence, using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria, and their statements include consensus treatment recommendations. Insights into the deliberations of the task forces are provided in the Justification and Evidence-to-Decision Framework Highlights sections. In addition, the task forces list priority knowledge gaps for further research.

Automatic external defibrillator (AED) location - seconds that save lifes

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a significant cause of adult mortality, categorized into in-hospital (IHCA) and out-of-hospital (OHCA). Survival in OHCA depends on early diagnosis, alerting Emergency Medical Service (EMS), high-quality bystander resuscitation, and prompt Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) use. Accelerating technological progress supports faster AED retrieval and use, but there are barriers in real-life OHCA situations. The study assesses 6th-year medical students' ability to locate AEDs using smartphones, revealing challenges and proposing solutions.

MATERIAL & METHODS

The study was conducted in 2022-2023 at the Medical University of Lodz, Poland. Respondents completed a survey on AED knowledge and characteristics, followed by a task to find the nearest AED using their own smartphones. As common sources did not list the University AEDs, respondents were instructed to locate the nearest AED outside the research site.

RESULTS

A total of 300 6th-year medical students took part in the study. Only 3.3% had an AED locating app. Only 32% of students claimed to know where the AED nearest to their home is. All 300 had received AED training, and almost half had been witness to a resuscitation. Out of the 291 medical students who completed the AED location task, the median time to locate the nearest AED was 58 s. Most participants (86.6%) found the AED within 100 s, and over half (53%) did so in under 1 min.

CONCLUSIONS

National registration of AEDs should be mandatory. A unified source of all AEDs mapped should be created or added to existing ones. With a median of under one minute, searching for AED by a bystander should be considered as a point in the chain of survival.

Validation of a Novel Mobile Application for Assessing Pediatric Tracheostomy Emergency Simulations

Objective

Pediatric tracheostomy is associated with high morbidity and mortality, yet clinician knowledge and quality of tracheostomy care may vary widely. In situ simulation is effective at detecting and mitigating related latent safety threats, but evaluation via retrospective video review has disadvantages (eg, delayed analysis, and potential data loss). We evaluated whether a novel mobile application is accurate and reliable for assessment of in situ tracheostomy emergency simulations.

Methods

A novel mobile application was developed for assessment of tracheostomy emergency in situ simulation team performance. After 1.25 hours of training, 6 raters scored 10 tracheostomy emergency simulation videos for the occurrence and timing of 12 critical steps. To assess accuracy, rater scores were compared to a reference standard to determine agreement for occurrence or absence of critical steps and a timestamp within ±5 seconds. Interrater reliability was determined through Cohen's and Fleiss' kappa and intraclass correlation coefficient.

Results

Raters had 86.0% agreement with the reference standard when considering step occurrence and timing, and 92.8% agreement when considering only occurrence. The average timestamp difference from the reference standard was 1.3 ± 18.5 seconds. Overall interrater reliability was almost perfect for both step occurrence (Fleiss' kappa of 0.81) and timing of step (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.99).

Discussion

Using our novel mobile application, raters with minimal training accurately and reliably assessed videos of tracheostomy emergency simulations and identified areas for future refinement.

Implications for Practice

With refinements, this innovative mobile application is an effective tool for real-time data capture of time-critical steps in in situ tracheostomy emergency simulations.

Optimizing Outcomes After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest With Innovative Approaches to Public-Access Defibrillation: A Scientific Statement From the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a global public health issue experienced by ≈3.8 million people annually. Only 8% to 12% survive to hospital discharge. Early defibrillation of shockable rhythms is associated with improved survival, but ensuring timely access to defibrillators has been a significant challenge. To date, the development of public-access defibrillation programs, involving the deployment of automated external defibrillators into the public space, has been the main strategy to address this challenge. Public-access defibrillator programs have been associated with improved outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; however, the devices are used in <3% of episodes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This scientific statement was commissioned by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation with 3 objectives: (1) identify known barriers to public-access defibrillator use and early defibrillation, (2) discuss established and novel strategies to address those barriers, and (3) identify high-priority knowledge gaps for future research to address. The writing group undertook systematic searches of the literature to inform this statement. Innovative strategies were identified that relate to enhanced public outreach, behavior change approaches, optimization of static public-access defibrillator deployment and housing, evolved automated external defibrillator technology and functionality, improved integration of public-access defibrillation with existing emergency dispatch protocols, and exploration of novel automated external defibrillator delivery vectors. We provide evidence- and consensus-based policy suggestions to enhance public-access defibrillation and guidance for future research in this area.

Optimizing outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with innovative approaches to public-access defibrillation: A scientific statement from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a global public health issue experienced by ≈3.8 million people annually. Only 8% to 12% survive to hospital discharge. Early defibrillation of shockable rhythms is associated with improved survival, but ensuring timely access to defibrillators has been a significant challenge. To date, the development of public-access defibrillation programs, involving the deployment of automated external defibrillators into the public space, has been the main strategy to address this challenge. Public-access defibrillator programs have been associated with improved outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; however, the devices are used in <3% of episodes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This scientific statement was commissioned by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation with 3 objectives: (1) identify known barriers to public-access defibrillator use and early defibrillation, (2) discuss established and novel strategies to address those barriers, and (3) identify high-priority knowledge gaps for future research to address. The writing group undertook systematic searches of the literature to inform this statement. Innovative strategies were identified that relate to enhanced public outreach, behavior change approaches, optimization of static public-access defibrillator deployment and housing, evolved automated external defibrillator technology and functionality, improved integration of public-access defibrillation with existing emergency dispatch protocols, and exploration of novel automated external defibrillator delivery vectors. We provide evidence- and consensus-based policy suggestions to enhance public-access defibrillation and guidance for future research in this area.

Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Bystander Defibrillator Search Time and Experience With and Without Directional Assistance: A Randomized Simulation Trial in a Community Setting

INTRODUCTION

Probability of survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) doubles when a bystander initiates cardiopulmonary resuscitation and uses an automated external defibrillator (AED) rapidly. National, state, and community efforts have increased placement of AEDs in public spaces; however, bystander AED use remains less than 2% in the United States. Little is known about the effect of giving bystanders directional assistance to the closest public access AED.

METHODS

We conducted 35 OHCA simulations using a life-sized manikin with participants aged 18 through 65 years who searched for public access AEDs in 5 zones on a university campus. Zones varied by challenges to pedestrian AED acquisition and number of fixed AEDs. Participants completed 2 searches-first unassisted and then with verbal direction to the closest AED-and we compared AED delivery times. We conducted pretest and posttest surveys.

RESULTS

In all 5 zones, the median time from simulated OHCA onset to AED delivery was lower when the bystander received directional assistance. Time savings (minutes:seconds) varied by zone, ranging from a median of 0:53 (P = 0.14) to 3:42 (P = 0.02). Only 3 participants immediately located the closest AED without directional assistance; more than half reported difficulty locating an AED.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings may inform strategies to ensure that AEDs are consistently marked and placed in visible, accessible locations. Continued emphasis on developing strategies to improve lay bystanders' ability to locate and use AEDs may improve AED retrieval times and OHCA outcomes.

A review on initiatives for the management of daily medical emergencies prior to the arrival of emergency medical services

Emergency services worldwide face increasing cost pressure that potentially limits their existing resources. In many countries, emergency services also face the issues of staff shortage-creating extra challenges and constraints, especially during crisis times such as the COVID-19 pandemic-as well as long distances to sparsely populated areas resulting in longer response times. To overcome these issues and potentially reduce consequences of daily (medical) emergencies, several countries, such as Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands, have started initiatives using new types of human resources as well as equipment, which have not been part of the existing emergency systems before. These resources are employed in response to medical emergency cases if they can arrive earlier than emergency medical services (EMS). A good number of studies have investigated the use of these new types of resources in EMS systems, from medical, technical, and logistical perspectives as their study domains. Several review papers in the literature exist that focus on one or several of these new types of resources. However, to the best of our knowledge, no review paper that comprehensively considers all new types of resources in emergency medical response systems exists. We try to fill this gap by presenting a broad literature review of the studies focused on the different new types of resources, which are used prior to the arrival of EMS. Our objective is to present an application-based and methodological overview of these papers, to provide insights to this important field and to bring it to the attention of researchers as well as emergency managers and administrators.

Assessment of Canadian Public Automated External Defibrillator Registries

BACKGROUND

Public automated external defibrillator (AED) registries aim to increase layperson defibrillation for victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This study aims to characterize Canadian AED registries and the process by which these databases are updated and used.

METHODS

A survey was administered to representatives from each eligible AED registry. Collected data included information on registry management, AED validation process, linkage to emergency medical dispatch (EMD), and number of AEDs per registry. Three unregistered AEDs in each region were then located and registered into their respective registry. The primary endpoint was the proportion of AEDs that became visible in the registry within 1 month.

RESULTS

Of the 9 Canadian provinces that have registries, 7 are provincial, whereas 2 contain smaller independent registries. The survey was completed by 90% of contacted registries. The number of AEDs per registry ranged from 21 to 443 per 100,000 persons. Six registries are managed by a provincial government, 6 use a standardized validation process, and 8 are linked to EMD. Of the 21 AEDs registered by our study personnel in 7/10 registries, 9 (43%) were made available to the public within 1 month of registration. Only 1 registry employed an AED validation process that included direct contact with AED managers.

CONCLUSIONS

Canadian public AED registries demonstrate significant differences in their governance and administrative processes. A majority of registries are integrated with EMD for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but not all registries use a standardized validation process to ensure accuracy of AED information submitted by the public.

2021 ISHNE/HRS/EHRA/APHRS collaborative statement on mHealth in Arrhythmia Management: Digital Medical Tools for Heart Rhythm Professionals: From the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology/Heart Rhythm Society/European Heart Rhythm Association/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society

This collaborative statement from the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology/Heart Rhythm Society/European Heart Rhythm Association/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society describes the current status of mobile health ("mHealth") technologies in arrhythmia management. The range of digital medical tools and heart rhythm disorders that they may be applied to and clinical decisions that may be enabled are discussed. The facilitation of comorbidity and lifestyle management (increasingly recognized to play a role in heart rhythm disorders) and patient self-management are novel aspects of mHealth. The promises of predictive analytics but also operational challenges in embedding mHealth into routine clinical care are explored.

2021 ISHNE/ HRS/ EHRA/ APHRS collaborative statement on mHealth in Arrhythmia Management: Digital Medical Tools for Heart Rhythm Professionals: From the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology/Heart Rhythm Society/European Heart Rhythm Association/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society

This collaborative statement from the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology/ Heart Rhythm Society/ European Heart Rhythm Association/ Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society describes the current status of mobile health ("mHealth") technologies in arrhythmia management. The range of digital medical tools and heart rhythm disorders that they may be applied to and clinical decisions that may be enabled are discussed. The facilitation of comorbidity and lifestyle management (increasingly recognized to play a role in heart rhythm disorders) and patient self-management are novel aspects of mHealth. The promises of predictive analytics but also operational challenges in embedding mHealth into routine clinical care are explored.

2021 ISHNE / HRS / EHRA / APHRS Collaborative Statement on mHealth in Arrhythmia Management: Digital Medical Tools for Heart Rhythm Professionals: From the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology / Heart Rhythm Society / European Heart Rhythm Association / Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society

This collaborative statement from the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology / Heart Rhythm Society / European Heart Rhythm Association / Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society describes the current status of mobile health ("mHealth") technologies in arrhythmia management. The range of digital medical tools and heart rhythm disorders that they may be applied to and clinical decisions that may be enabled are discussed. The facilitation of comorbidity and lifestyle management (increasingly recognized to play a role in heart rhythm disorders) and patient self-management are novel aspects of mHealth. The promises of predictive analytics but also operational challenges in embedding mHealth into routine clinical care are explored.

2021 ISHNE/HRS/EHRA/APHRS Collaborative Statement on mHealth in Arrhythmia Management: Digital Medical Tools for Heart Rhythm Professionals: From the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology/Heart Rhythm Society/European Heart Rhythm Association/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society

This collaborative statement from the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology/Heart Rhythm Society/European Heart Rhythm Association/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society describes the current status of mobile health ("mHealth") technologies in arrhythmia management. The range of digital medical tools and heart rhythm disorders that they may be applied to and clinical decisions that may be enabled are discussed. The facilitation of comorbidity and lifestyle management (increasingly recognized to play a role in heart rhythm disorders) and patient self-management are novel aspects of mHealth. The promises of predictive analytics but also operational challenges in embedding mHealth into routine clinical care are explored.

2021 ISHNE/HRS/EHRA/APHRS Expert Collaborative Statement on mHealth in Arrhythmia Management: Digital Medical Tools for Heart Rhythm Professionals: From the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology/Heart Rhythm Society/European Heart Rhythm Association/Asia-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society

This collaborative statement from the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology/Heart Rhythm Society/European Heart Rhythm Association/Asia-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society describes the current status of mobile health technologies in arrhythmia management. The range of digital medical tools and heart rhythm disorders that they may be applied to and clinical decisions that may be enabled are discussed. The facilitation of comorbidity and lifestyle management (increasingly recognized to play a role in heart rhythm disorders) and patient self-management are novel aspects of mobile health. The promises of predictive analytics but also operational challenges in embedding mobile health into routine clinical care are explored.

Cardiac arrest: An interdisciplinary scoping review of the literature from 2019

OBJECTIVES

The Interdisciplinary Cardiac Arrest Research Review (ICARE) group was formed in 2018 to conduct a systematic annual search of peer-reviewed literature relevant to cardiac arrest. Now in its second year, the goals of the review are to illustrate best practices in research and help reduce compartmentalization of knowledge by disseminating clinically relevant advances in the field of cardiac arrest across disciplines.

METHODS

An electronic search of PubMed using keywords related to cardiac arrest was conducted. Title and abstracts retrieved by these searches were screened for relevance, classified by article type (original research or review), and sorted into 7 categories. Screened manuscripts underwent standardized scoring of overall methodological quality and impact on the categorized fields of study by reviewer teams lead by a subject-matter expert editor. Articles scoring higher than 99 percentiles by category-type were selected for full critique. Systematic differences between editors' and reviewers' scores were assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

RESULTS

A total of 3348 articles were identified on initial search; of these, 1364 were scored after screening for relevance and deduplication, and forty-five underwent full critique. Epidemiology & Public Health represented 24% of fully reviewed articles with Prehospital Resuscitation, Technology & Care, and In-Hospital Resuscitation & Post-Arrest Care Categories both representing 20% of fully reviewed articles. There were no significant differences between editor and reviewer scoring.

CONCLUSIONS

The sheer number of articles screened is a testament to the need for an accessible source calling attention to high-quality and impactful research and serving as a high-yield reference for clinicians and scientists seeking to follow the ever-growing body of cardiac arrest-related literature. This will promote further development of the unique and interdisciplinary field of cardiac arrest medicine.