title: Concise education of ambulance personnel in ECG interpretation and out of hospital defibrillation.
abstract: We describe an 8 hour training program for ambulance personnel in the management of cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. The effect of the program over a one year period is evaluated using ECG recordings and case records from the event. Emergency medical technicians manning three hospital-based ambulances were given an 8 hour theoretical and practical course followed by an examination. Fifty-nine emergency medical technicians went through the training; 52 passed the examination at the first attempt and 6 at the second (88% and 98%, respectively). The medical technicians started resuscitative procedures in 277 out of hospital cardiac arrest patients. 127 showed ventricular fibrillation at initiation of resuscitation and of these, 125 were given direct current cardioversion (DC shock) (98%). In 19 cases ventricular fibrillation persisted following defibrillation. In 9 cases no further defibrillation was attempted following our standard instructions; in the remaining 10 the ECG findings could not be interpreted by the technicians. Cardioversion was carried out in three cases, despite absence of ventricular fibrillation, one in desperation and two following misinterpretation of the ECG. A short training program for ambulance personnel seems to be sufficient with regard to the management of patients found in ventricular fibrillation and may be used by other ambulance services.
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D000552:Ambulances; D003479:Curriculum; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000193:education*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000193:education*; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians / Q000193:education*; D013548:Sweden