Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Automated external defibrillator (AED) utilization rates and reasons fire and police first responders did not apply AEDs.
To determine the rate at which fire and police first responders (FRs) apply automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and to ascertain reasons for not applying them. ⋯ Fire and police FRs did not apply AEDs to a significant number of OHCA patients. Use of the transport ambulance defibrillator was the primary reason given for not applying the FR AED. Given low AED application rates by FRs, future studies are needed to determine the characteristics of communities in which equipping FRs with AEDs is the most beneficial deployment strategy, and how to increase AED application by FRs in communities with FR AED programs.