title: Do automated external defibrillators save lives?
abstract: Automated external defibrillators accompanied by an intensive training program of local volunteers results in a greater number of patients surviving to hospital discharge. The number of additional survivors (14 in 497 community facilities over a 22-month period) is relatively small, however, and the cost of the defibrillators is high, so whether this is the best allocation of healthcare resources remains uncertain.