title: How, when, and where have rental automated external defibrillators been used in Japan?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have been rented in various places in Japan. When rental AEDs are placed in locations where the probability of sudden cardiac arrest is high and permanent placement of AEDs is difficult, the possibility of improving survival rates might increase. In this preliminary study, we investigated how, when, and where rental AEDs have been used in Japan to clarify their characteristics when used in actual situations and to facilitate better usage in the future.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the total number of AEDs rented, the duration of rental of each AED, the total number of AEDs rented monthly, the rental sites, the frequency and location of use, the number of defibrillations, and the time to defibrillation success for devices rented between January 2008 and December 2010 by a single company in Japan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The number of AEDs rented annually was 590 at 391 sites in 2008, 767 at 465 sites in 2009, and 847 at 477 sites in 2010. More AEDs were rented during the summer. The devices were actually used on 17 individuals, of whom 2 individuals (at a beach and a marathon) underwent defibrillation, and 1 individual (at a marathon) survived.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rental AEDs can play an important role in emergency cases occurring during seasonal and temporary outdoor events. The provision of rental AEDs in locations where permanent AEDs would be unfeasible may offer a useful strategy for efficiently improving survival rates in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: sho-ohta@tokyo-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shoichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyokazu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harikae
authors.affiliation: Noda City Fire Department, Noda, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sekine
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency and Acute Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Saitama International Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nemoto
mesh_terms: D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D047548:Defibrillators / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution* / Q000639:trends; D004630:Emergencies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011336:Probability; D012621:Seasons; D013177:Sports; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: Beach; Marathon; Outdoor; Rental AED; Temporary