UNASSIGNED: Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation is key to increasing survival following an out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrest (OHCA). However, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are used in a very small percentage of cases. Despite large numbers of AEDs in the community, the absence of a unified system for registering their locations across the UK\'s ambulance services may have resulted in missed opportunities to save lives. Therefore, representatives from the resuscitation community worked alongside ambulance services to develop a single repository for data on the location of AEDs in the UK.
UNASSIGNED: A national defibrillator network, \"The Circuit\", was developed by the British Heart Foundation in collaboration with the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, the UK ambulance services, the Resuscitation Council UK and St John Ambulance. The database allows individuals or organisations to record information about AED location, accessibility, and availability. The database synchronises with ambulance computer aided dispatch systems to provide UK ambulance services with real-time information on the nearest, available AED.
UNASSIGNED: The Circuit was successfully rolled out to all 14 UK ambulance services. Since 2019, 82,108 AEDs have been registered. Of the AED data collected by The Circuit, 54% were not previously registered to any ambulance service, and are therefore new registrations.
UNASSIGNED: The Circuit provides ambulance services with a single point of access to AED locations in the UK. Since the launch of the system the number of defibrillators registered has doubled. Linking the Circuit data with patient outcome data will help understand whether improving the accessibility to AEDs is associated with increased survival.

UNASSIGNED: Ultraportable automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are a new generation of defibrillators that are small, lightweight, easy to carry on one\'s person, and affordable for personal and home use. They offer the opportunity to increase AED availability in case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and therefore improve outcomes.We aimed to review evidence supporting the potential effect on outcomes and the performance of these ultraportable AEDs.
UNASSIGNED: We searched Ovid Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases from 2012 to July 4th, 2024 to identify any studies related to ultraportable AED. The population was adult and children with OHCA who were treated with an ultra-portable AED. All outcomes were accepted. We limited study designs to randomized controlled trials and non-randomized studies. Data charting was done by the primary author using standardized data abstraction forms.
UNASSIGNED: The search strategy identified 54 studies (Pubmed = 26, Embase = 28, with 19 duplicates). We included three articles in the final review. One study was a medico-economic simulation study including 600,000 simulated patients, one is the study protocol of cluster randomized trial of providing ultraportable AEDs to first responders and one is an abstract with preliminary results of this trial reporting 1805 community responders recruited, 903 allocated to ultraportable AED. No studies to date have reported patient outcomes.
UNASSIGNED: This review found no evidence of ultraportable AED device performance, clinical or safety outcomes. There is an urgent need for further research to determine the safety and effectiveness of ultraportable AEDs.

BACKGROUND: Drones are able to deliver automated external defibrillators in cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) but can be deployed for other purposes. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility of sending live photos to dispatch centres before arrival of other units during time-critical incidents.
METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, the regional dispatch centre implemented a new service using five existing AED-drone systems covering an estimated 200000 inhabitants in Sweden. Drones were deployed automatically over a 4-month study period (December 2022-April 2023) in emergency calls involving suspected OHCAs, traffic accidents and fires in buildings. Upon arrival at the scene, an overhead photo was taken and transmitted to the dispatch centre. Feasibility of providing photos in real time, and time delays intervals were examined.
RESULTS: Overall, drones were deployed in 59/440 (13%) of all emergency calls: 26/59 (44%) of suspected OHCAs, 20/59 (34%) of traffic accidents, and 13/59 (22%) of fires in buildings. The main reasons for non-deployment were closed airspace and unfavourable weather conditions (68%). Drones arrived safely at the exact location in 58/59 cases (98%). Their overall median response time was 3:49 min, (IQR 3:18-4:26) vs. emergency medical services (EMS), 05:51 (IQR: 04:29-08:04) p-value for time difference between drone and EMS = 0,05. Drones arrived first on scene in 47/52 cases (90%) and the largest median time difference was found in suspected OHCAs 4:10 min, (IQR: 02:57-05:28). The time difference in the 5/52 (10%) cases when EMS arrived first the time difference was 5:18 min (IQR 2:19-7:38), p = NA. Photos were transmitted correctly in all 59 alerts. No adverse events occurred.
CONCLUSIONS: In a newly implemented drone dispatch service, drones were dispatched to 13% of relevant EMS calls. When drones were dispatched, they arrived at scene earlier than EMS services in 90% of cases. Drones were able to relay photos to the dispatch centre in all cases. Although severely affected by closed airspace and weather conditions, this novel method may facilitate additional decision-making information during time-critical incidents.

Out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) outcomes can be improved by strengthening the chain of survival, namely prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED). However, provision of bystander CPR and AED use remains low due to individual patient factors ranging from lack of education to socioeconomic barriers and due to lack of resources such as limited availability of AEDs in the community. Although the impact of health inequalities on survival from OHCA is documented, it is imperative that we identify and implement strategies to improve public health and outcomes from OHCA overall but with a simultaneous emphasis on making care more equitable. Disparities in CPR delivery and AED use in OHCA exist based on factors including sex, education level, socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, all of which we discuss in this review. Most importantly, we discuss the barriers to AED use, and strategies on how these may be overcome.

210Po is a significant source of ionizing radiation that people are exposed to through food globally. This paper presents the wide range of accumulation level of 210Po in the organs of two species of shellfish including freshwater mussel (Sinanodonta jourdyi) and golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata), common freshwater species in Vietnam. There was a significant correlation between 210Po activity in muscle to their mass and size of freshwater mussels. In contrast, there was no relation between other organs of both species with their mass and size. The annual effective dose due to consumption of freshwater mussels ranged from 68.7 to 291 μSv year-1 with a mean value of 138 μSv year-1 for muscle and from 321 to 4560 μSv year-1 with a mean value of 1422 μSv year-1 for the hepatopancreas. Meanwhile, the AED for golden apple snail was recorded to be higher with values ranging from 105 to 2189 μSv year-1 with mean value of 673 μSv year-1 for muscle and from 468 to 4155 μSv year-1 with a mean value of 2332 μSv year-1 for hepatopancreas. Thus, the consumption of these two types of shellfish is considered relatively safe, but the hepatopancreas gland must be removed before processing.

Standardized reporting of data is crucial for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) research. While the implementation of first responder systems dispatching volunteers to OHCA is encouraged, there is currently no uniform reporting standard for describing these systems. A steering committee established a literature search to identify experts in smartphone alerting systems. These international experts were invited to a conference held in Hinterzarten, Germany, with 40 researchers from 13 countries in attendance. Prior to the conference, participants submitted proposals for parameters to be included in the reporting standard. The conference comprised five workshops covering different aspects of smartphone alerting systems. Proposed parameters were discussed, clarified, and consensus was achieved using the Nominal Group Technique. Participants voted in a modified Delphi approach on including each category as a core or supplementary element in the reporting standard. Results were presented, and a writing group developed definitions for all categories and items, which were sent to participants for revision and final voting using LimeSurvey web-based software. The resulting reporting standard consists of 68 core items and 21 supplementary items grouped into five topics (first responder system, first responder network, technology/algorithm/strategies, reporting data, and automated external defibrillators (AED)). This proposed reporting standard generated by an expert opinion group fills the gap in describing first responder systems. Its adoption in future research will facilitate comparison of systems and research outcomes, enhancing the transfer of scientific findings to clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Bystander-provided cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CRP) influences the survival rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs). Disparities on bystander resuscitation measures between Black, Hispanic, Asians and Non-Hispanic White OHCAs is unclear. Examining racial and ethnic differences in bystander resuscitations is essential to better target interventions.
METHODS: 15,542 witnessed OHCAs were identified between April 1, 2011, and June 30, 2015 using the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Epidemiologic Registry 3, a multi-center, controlled trial about OHCAs in the United States and Canada. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze the differences in bystander resuscitation (bystander CRP [B-CPR], CPR plus ventilation, automated external defibrillators/defibrillator application [B-AED/D], or delivery of shocks) and clinical outcomes (death at the scene or en route, return of spontaneous circulation upon first arrival at the emergency department [ROSC-ED], survival until ED discharge [S-ED], survival until hospital discharge [S-HOS], and favorable neurological outcome at discharge) between Black, Hispanic, or Asian victims and Non-Hispanic White victims.
RESULTS: Compared to OHCA victims in Non-Hispanic Whites, Black, Hispanic, and Asians were less likely to receive B-CPR (adjusted OR: 0.79; 95 % CI: 0.63-0.99), and B-AED/D (adjusted OR: 0.80; 95 % CI: 0.65-0.98) in public locations. And, Black, Hispanic, and Asian OHCAs were less likely to receive bystander resuscitation in street/highway locations and public buildings, and less likely to have better clinical outcomes, including ROSC-ED, S-ED and S-HOS.
CONCLUSIONS: Black, Hispanic and Asian victims with witnessed OHCAs are less likely to receive bystander resuscitation and more likely to get worse outcomes than Non-Hispanic White victims.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a significant cause of death. The chance of survival significantly increases when immediate defibrillation with an on-site automated external defibrillator (AED) is available. Our aim is to systematically evaluate the impact of public access defibrillators (PAD) on the outcomes of outpatient cardiac arrest. We conducted a systematic review of the data from global studies on the role of bystander and emergency medical service (EMS) interventions, primarily focusing on the usage of AEDs, during OHCA events. The results highlight the critical significance of PADs in improving survival outcomes in OHCA settings. The majority of OHCA incidents occurred in private residences, but public spaces such as schools and airports had better outcomes, likely due to AED accessibility and trained individuals. Placing AEDs in public areas, especially high-risk zones, can boost survival chances. Timely defibrillation, particularly by bystanders, correlated with better survival and neurological conditions. The review emphasizes the importance of widespread cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED training, strategic AED placement, and continuous monitoring of interventions and outcomes to enhance survival rates and neurological recovery after OHCAs. This systematic review showed that bystander interventions, including CPR and AED usage, significantly increased the survival rate. Overall, immediate response and accessibility to AEDs in public areas can significantly improve outcomes in OHCA events.

UNASSIGNED: The likelihood of survival of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest quadruples with the rapid application of basic life support (BLS). The public\'s ability to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use automated external defibrillators (AEDs) is extremely important. This study aimed to assess the public knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of utilizing AEDs and to understand barriers to AED application.
UNASSIGNED: We conducted a cross-sectional study from March 1-30, 2022. An electronic questionnaire was constructed and validated to measure the KAP for public AED utilization and its barriers.
UNASSIGNED: Of the 406 participants, 244 (60.10%) were males. Male respondents had 17% less knowledge and poorer attitude towards using an AED as compared to female respondents. Knowledge and attitudes on using AEDs were low (70.7%) among Saudi nationals compared to those of foreign nationals. Those who were BLS/CPR trained had a 2.5 times greater understanding and willingness to use AEDs in public than those who were not. Barriers to AEDs in CPR/BLS-trained participants were: (1) accidentally hurting the victim (14.3%), (2) duty as a bystander to just call the ambulance and wait for help (12.1%), (3) never taught what to do (n = 41, 18.4%), (4) did not want to be scolded if performed wrong (3.1%), and (5) never witnessed such a situation (51.6%).
UNASSIGNED: There is a strong association between knowledge of and willingness to use AEDs in emergency situations among the public. Misconceptions about AEDs hinder their use. This calls for urgent training programs through accessible technology to reach the public.

BACKGROUND: Community first responders (CFRs) strengthen the Chain of Survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) care. Considerable efforts have been invested in Singapore\'s CFR program, during the years 2016-2020, by developing an app-based activation system called myResponder. This paper reports on national CFR response indicators to evaluate the real-world impact of these efforts.
METHODS: We matched data from the Singapore Civil Defence Force\'s CFR registry with the Pan Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study (PAROS) registry data to calculate performance indicators. These included the number of CFRs receiving and accepting an issued alert per OHCA event. Also calculated were the fraction of OHCA events where CFRs received an issued alert, or accepted the alert, and arrived at the scene either before or after EMS. We also present trends of these indicators and compare the prevalence of these fractions between the CFR-attended and CFR-unattended OHCA events.
RESULTS: Of 6577 alerted OHCA events, 42.7% accepted an alert, 50% of these arrived at the scene and 71% of them arrived before EMS. Almost all CFR response indicators improved over time even for the pandemic year (2020). The fraction of OHCA events where >2 CFRs received an alert increased from 62% to 96%; the same figure for accepting an alert did not change much but >2 CFRs arriving at the scene increased from 0% to 7.5%. The fraction of OHCA events with an automated external defibrillator applied and defibrillation performed by CFR increased from 4.2% to 10.3% and 1.6% to 3%, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed in these indicators when CFR-attended and CFR-unattended OHCA events were compared.
CONCLUSIONS: This real-world study shows that activating CFRs using mobile technology can improve community response to OHCA and are bearing fruit in Singapore at a national level. Some targets for improvement and future research are highlighted in this report.