title: The Los Angeles public access defibrillator (PAD) program: ten years after.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Public access automated external defibrillator (PAD) programs have been shown to be successful in several municipalities. This study sought to determine the usage of and survival rate from a large, urban PAD program in the first 10 years since its implementation.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective, longitudinal, observational study from January 2002-2012 conducted in Los Angeles, California, a city with a population of 3.8 million. An incremental rollout resulted in a current total of 1300 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in place in city-owned buildings and other public places, including all 3 area airports, golf-courses, and public pools. All instances where an AED was applied were included in the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 59 incidents of cardiac arrest with a public access AED applied, of which 42 (71%) occurred at an airport. 51 (86%) of the patients were male, with a median age of 64 years (interquartile range, 56.5 to 70 years). A shockable rhythm was detected and shocks were applied in 39 (66%) patients, with 30 (77%) of these patients achieving a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Of those patients who received shock(s) by public access AED, 27 (69%) survived to hospital discharge. The youngest survivors were a 25 year old male and a 34 year old female.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the majority of PAD cases occurred at an airport, there were also survivors from other public locations. AEDs deployed as part of a large PAD program resulted in a very high survival rate for patients with cardiac arrest.
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, USA. eckstein@usc.edu
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eckstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003256:Community Participation; D047548:Defibrillators; D004554:Electric Countershock; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors