title: Automated external defibrillators do not recommend false positive shocks under the influence of electromagnetic fields present at public locations.
abstract: Electromagnetic fields (EMF) reduce the signal quality of electrocardiograms and may lead to the misinterpretation by automated external defibrillators (AED). We designed this investigation as a prospective study, with a randomized sequence of AED applications on healthy volunteers. We chose busy public places where public access defibrillation was possible as test locations. Strong EMF were sought and found at train stations next to accelerating and decelerating trains. The primary outcome variable was the absolute number of shocks advised in the presence of sinus rhythm by five commonly used AED in Austria. For data analysis, the statistician was blinded in regard to the AED models tested. Data analysis was based on a per protocol evaluation. Of 390 tests run, 0 cases of false positive results occurred (95% CI: 0-0.77). AED can be regarded as safe, even with the interference of EMF present at train stations.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, Vienna Red Cross, Vienna, Austria. roman.fleischhackl@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fleischhackl
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roessler
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arrich
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fleischhackl
authors.forename: Heidrun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Losert
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uray
authors.forename: Klemens
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koehler
authors.forename: Fritz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sterz
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mittlboeck
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoerauf
mesh_terms: D047548:Defibrillators; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011890:Railroads