Defibrillation 2: Using defibrillators in hospital

Patients who have a cardiac arrest in hospital should, if it is indicated, be defibrillated as quickly as possible--ideally within three minutes. Most hospital wards and other clinical areas have access to defibrillators with both advisory (semi-automated) and manual modes. The former enables first responders, including nurses without ECG interpretation skills, to defibrillate the patient while awaiting the arrival of the cardiac arrest team who can then select and use the manual mode. Most hospital nurses will be trained in advisory defibrillation, while a few will be trained in manual defibrillation. This article provides an overview of defibrillation in hospital, and looks at both advisory and manual defibrillation.