December 2, 2004 - This month's issue of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (NDT) has a full-text editorial on defibrillators in dialysis centers.

"Don't forget the defibrillator in the dialysis unit" - editorial comment from NDT

November 9, 2004 - In recognition of the life-saving potential that automated external defibrillators (AEDs) offer against sudden cardiac arrest, Illinois has joined other states in the U.S. that require certain public facilities to be equipped with the devices. Article from AAMI (Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation).

Minntech Renal Systems offers an automated external defibrillator for dialysis centers.

October 17, 2002 - A study published in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) shows that even people with no training can use publicly accessible automated defibrillators to save the lives of cardiac arrest victims. Summary from Reuters Health/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)

The study looked at whether "random bystanders" at Chicago airports might also be able to use publicly accessible AEDs to save the lives of cardiac arrest victims. Researchers found that over 2 years, AEDs successfully resuscitated 11 of 18 people who went into VF.

"Public Use of Automated External Defibrillators" - abstract from NEJM

July 7, 2001 - Should patient-care personnel be trained to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs) when cardiac arrests occur in the dialysis center?

A recent article in the Archives of Internal Medicine states that patients in dialysis centers, in particular, could benefit from AEDs.

Here is the abstract of the study entitled, "Cardiac Arrest in Medical and Dental Practices - Implications for Automated External Defibrillators".

Here is an abstract of a study from the latest issue of Kidney International entitled, "Cardiac arrest and sudden death in dialysis units". The study suggests that the dialysate prescription should be evaluated and modified on an ongoing basis, especially following hospitalization in high-risk patients.

Here is the fact sheet for the LIFEPAK 500, one of the many automated external defibrillators that are on the market.

The British Medical Journal contained a study last month that showed that most physicians incorrectly position defibrillator paddles.

Here is the PubMed search result of articles on AEDs in the MEDLINE database of the National Library of Medicine.


[This message has been edited by Gary Peterson (edited 12-02-2004).]