title: Public-access defibrillation.
abstract: This paper provides a general overview of the current status of public-access defibrillation (PAD). The objectives are to describe the rationale for PAD, to define different levels of PAD as enumerated by the American Heart Association AED Task Force, to review the development of PAD over the past decade, and to discuss the cost-benefit of PAD, mainly from models and a few small implementations throughout the country. A prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial (the Public Access Defibrillation Phase I Trial) has been designed to compare nontraditional targeted bystander CPR using AEDs with that not using AEDs. It is expected that the trial will resolve many of the uncertainties about the benefits of PAD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Richmond 23298-0401, USA. ornato@aol.com
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ornato
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Hankins
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000193:education; D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods