[Semiautomatic defibrillation in children].
The main survival factor in cardiac arrest secondary to ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the interval between collapse and defibrillation; consequently, this treatment constitutes one of the most important links in the survival chain in adults. Although VF is a rare cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in children, its detection and treatment is essential because in the pediatric cardiac arrest scenario, VF is the dysrhythmia with the best prognosis. Automated external defibrillators (AED) are simple devices that allow cardiac rhythm to be analyzed; they can also determine whether it is shockable or not with high sensitivity and specificity in adults and children. Currently available evidence has prompted the recommendation of AED use in children older than 1 year without signs of circulation, mainly in the pre-hospital setting and ideally with a dose-limiting device.
Servicio de Críticos y Urgencias Pediátricas, Departamento de Pediatría, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. arnprp@usc.es
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A
Rodríguez Núñez
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JA
Iglesias Vázquez
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D047548:Defibrillators / Q000592:standards; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000628:therapy*