Defibrillation with the sequential pulse technique: reproducibility with repeated shocks

The development of the automatic implantable defibrillator has created the need to assess the effects of interventions on defibrillation success. However, first it is important to determine the spontaneous variability of defibrillation threshold (DFT) over time. We repeatedly determined DFT over a maximum of 2-1/2 hours in open-chested, halothane-anesthetized pigs. Ten seconds after induction of fibrillation, defibrillation was attempted by passing a sequential pulse shock through an indwelling catheter and patch electrodes. Ninety-seven fibrillation episodes (FEs) were induced in eight pigs, with a maximum of 30 shocks in an animal. DFT remained stable and fitted a flat least-squares regression equation (y = 6.35 + 0.0055x, where x is the ventricular FE number and y is the DFT, r = 0.0115, p = NS). The mean DFT over time for the eight animals was 7.6 +/- 1.9 J (range 4.8 to 16.3 J). The inter-animal variability for DFT was 3.7 J and the mean intra-animal DFT variability over time was 3.6 +/- 2.3 J (range 0 to 6.8 J). We conclude that, using our methodology, DFT is reproducible and consistent over at least 2 hours. This model provides the basis to assess the effects of acute interventions on the ability to defibrillate.