Use of Automated External Defibrillators in US Federal Buildings: Implementation of the Federal Occupational Flealth Public Access Defibrillation Program

Objective: Federal Occupational Health (FOH) administers a nationwide public access defibrillation program in US federal buildings. We describe the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in federal buildings and evaluate survival after cardiac arrest. Methods: Using the FOH database, we exa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2014-01, Vol.56 (1), p.86-91
Main Authors: Kilaru, Austin S, Leffer, Marc, Perkner, John, Sawyer, Kate Flanigan, Jolley, Chandra E, Nadkarni, Lindsay D, Shofer, Frances S, Merchant, Raina M
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Objective: Federal Occupational Health (FOH) administers a nationwide public access defibrillation program in US federal buildings. We describe the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in federal buildings and evaluate survival after cardiac arrest. Methods: Using the FOH database, we examined reported events in which an AED was brought to a medical emergency in federal buildings over a 14-year period, from 1999 to 2012. Results: There were 132 events involving an AED, 96 (73%) of which were due to cardiac arrest of cardiac etiology. Of 54 people who were witnessed to experience a cardiac arrest and presented with ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, 21 (39%) survived to hospital discharge. Conclusions: Public access defibrillation, along with protocols to install, maintain, and deploy AEDs and train first responders, benefits survival after cardiac arrest in the workplace.
ISSN:1076-2752
DOI:10.1097/JOM.0000000000000042