Impact of onsite or dispatched automated external defibrillator use on early survival after sudden cardiac arrest occurring in international airports

Introduction > Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major public health challenge. Use of automated external defibrillators (AED) by laypersons improves survival of patient's victim of OHCA. The aim of our study was to compare onsite AED vs. dispatched AED management of cardiac arrest occurring in international airports. Methods > We conducted a retrospective, observational, comparative, study on data collected from three international airports: Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG), Chicago and Madrid-Barajas. We included patients with OHCA occurring inside the airport between 2009 and 2013. Group public access (PUB) included airports where AED were available to laypersons and group dispatched (SEC) was represented by Paris-CDG airport where AED was provided by paramedic teams. The primary endpoint was successful resuscitation defined as survival at time of hospital admission. Results > We included 150 consecutive patients victim of OHCA in the three airports. The time between collapse and AED setting was significantly shorter in the PUB vs. SEC group (4 +/- 3 minutes vs. 11 +/- 11, P = 0.0006). The total duration of resuscitation was shorter in the PUB group (10 +/- 10 minutes vs. 36 +/- 25 minutes, P < 0.0001). Survival at time of hospital admission was higher in the PUB group (62% vs. 38%, P = 0.01). Conclusion > The availability of public access AEDs in international airports seems to allow a quicker defibrillation and an increased success rate of resuscitation.