title: Automated external defibrillators and simulated in-hospital cardiac arrests.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that pediatric residents would have shorter time to attempted defibrillation using automated external defibrillators (AEDs) compared with manual defibrillators (MDs).
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective, randomized, controlled trial of AEDs versus MDs was performed. Pediatric residents responded to a simulated in-hospital ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest and were randomized to using either an AED or MD. The primary end point was time to attempted defibrillation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty residents, 21 (35%) interns, were randomized to 2 groups (AED = 30, MD = 30). Residents randomized to the AED group had a significantly shorter time to attempted defibrillation [median, 60 seconds (interquartile range, 53 to 71 seconds)] compared with those randomized to the MD group [median, 103 seconds (interquartile range, 68 to 288 seconds)] (P < .001). All residents in the AED group attempted defibrillation at <5 minutes compared with 23 (77%) in the MD group (P = .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AEDs improve the time to attempted defibrillation by pediatric residents in simulated cardiac arrests. Further studies are needed to help determine the role of AEDs in pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrests.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Lillie Frank Abercrombie Section of Pediatric Cardiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA. jrossano@bcm.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Joseph W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Rossano
authors.forename: Larry S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Jefferson
authors.forename: E O'Brian
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Antonio R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mott
mesh_terms: D047548:Defibrillators; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008348:Manikins; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors