Acute cardiac care & resuscitation
Combinations of First Responder and Drone Delivery to Achieve 5-Minute AED Deployment in Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA)
Authors' conclusion
Deployment of AEDs by FRs and optimized drone delivery can improve AED arrival times which may lead to improved clinical outcomes.
Study context
- Population
- OHCA patients ≥18 years in 48 North Carolina counties, CARES registry, 2013–2019
- Participants
- 28,292 patients
- Exposure
- Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for all first responder (FRs), then FRs plus optimized drone delivery, vs historical response
- Outcome
- Response time (9-1-1 call to AED arrival) and proportion of OHCAs with AED arrival <5 minutes
Methodological detailsregistry-based simulation, statewide, 48 North Carolina counties, logistic regression models
- Registry-based simulation
- Statewide
- 48 North Carolina counties
- Logistic regression models
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
County-level response time and AED arrival <5 minutes
| Group | Value | AED arrival <5 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Historical | median 8.0 (IQR 7.0–9.0) minutes | 16.5% (IQR: 11.2%-24.3%) |
| FR AEDs | median 7.0 (IQR 6.2–7.8) minutes | 22.3% (IQR: 16.4%-30.9%) |
| FR AEDs + drones | median 4.8 (IQR 4.3–5.2) minutes | 56.3% (IQR: 46.9%-64.2%) |
Value
Historicalmedian 8.0 (IQR 7.0–9.0) minutes
FR AEDsmedian 7.0 (IQR 6.2–7.8) minutes
FR AEDs + dronesmedian 4.8 (IQR 4.3–5.2) minutes
AED arrival <5 minutes
Historical16.5% (IQR: 11.2%-24.3%)
FR AEDs22.3% (IQR: 16.4%-30.9%)
FR AEDs + drones56.3% (IQR: 46.9%-64.2%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Survival, witnessed OHCAs with estimated drone arrival <5 minutes and ahead of FR and EMS
- Estimated increase in survival rates
- 34%
Original publication
Combinations of First Responder and Drone Delivery to Achieve 5-Minute AED Deployment in OHCA. JACC Adv. Published 25 June 2024. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it