Variability in hospital defibrillation times

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By  |  July 28, 2009 | 

It is well known that delayed defibrillation results in reduced survival in cardiac arrest patients. Researchers analyzed outcomes from 7479 adult inpatient cardiac arrests victims in 200 hospitals from the National Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. The prevalence of delayed defibrillation (>2 minutes) varied widely between hospitals, ranging from 2-51%. There was also wide variability in survival to discharge, ranging from 5-50%. Larger hospitals and ICU location had shorter times, but no other hospital characteristics were associated with delays. Hospitals need to design systems to ensure rapid defibrillation for hospitalized cardiac arrest patients (abstract).

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About the Author: Danielle Scheurer

Danielle Scheurer, MD, MSCR, SFHM is a clinical hospitalist and the Chief Quality Officer at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, where she also serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, completed her residency at Duke University, and completed her Masters in Clinical Research at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is also the President of SHM's Board of Directors and previously served as Physician Editor of The Hospitalist, SHM's monthly newsmagazine.

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