November 13, 2002—According to an October study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, automated external defibrillators deployed in readily accessible, well-marked public areas in Chicago airports were used effectively to assist patients with cardiac arrest. In the cases of survivors, most of the users had no duty to act and no prior training in the use of these devices.
The authors performed the two-year study at three Chicago airports. Defibrillators were installed a brisk 60-to-90-second walk apart throughout passenger terminals at O’Hare, Midway, and Meigs Field airports. The use of defibrillators was promoted by public-service videos in waiting areas, pamphlets, and reports in the media.
The results revealed that over a two-year period, twenty-one people had non-traumatic cardiac arrest—eighteen of whom had ventricular fibrillation. With two exceptions, defibrillator operators were good Samaritans, acting voluntarily. In the case of four patients with ventricular fibrillation, defibrillators were neither nearby nor used within five minutes, and none of these patients survived. Three others remained in fibrillation and eventually died, despite the rapid use of a defibrillator (within five minutes).
Eleven patients with ventricular fibrillation were successfully resuscitated, including eight who regained consciousness before hospital admission. Perhaps most surprising, the rescuers of six of the eleven successfully resuscitated patients had no training or experience in the use of automated defibrillators.
For reprints of the study, write to the Department of Aviation, O’Hare International Airport, PO Box 66142, Chicago, IL 60666, or e-mail.
