J Occup Environ Med. 2014 Jan;56(1):86-91. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000042.

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

Kilaru AS, Leffer M, Perkner J, Sawyer KF, Jolley CE, Nadkarni LD, Shofer FS, Merchant RM.

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Abstract

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.