Defibrillator/monitor/pacemakers

Defibrillator/monitors allow operators to assess and monitor a patient's ECG and, when necessary, deliver a defibrillating shock to the heart. When integral noninvasive pacing capability is added, the resulting device is referred to as a defibrillator/monitor/pacemaker. In this Update Evaluation, we present our findings for one newly evaluated model, the Philips Heartstream XL, and we summarize our findings for the seven previously evaluated models that are still on the market. (Our previous Evaluations were published in the May-June 1993, February 1998, and September 2000 issues of Health Devices.) Defibrillator/monitor/pacemakers are used for a variety of applications within the hospital, as well as by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel and others in the prehospital environment. To help both hospital-based and prehospital users select an appropriate model, we rate the models (1) for each of three in-hospital applications--general crash-cart use, in-hospital transport use, and in-hospital use by basic as well as advanced users--and (2) for prehospital (EMS) use. For in-hospital use, we recommend four of the evaluated models. These received either Preferred or Acceptable ratings for all the applications considered. For prehospital use, we found that five of the models will meet most organizations' needs.