Defibrillation safety in emergency helicopter transport
Autor: | Richard E. Burney, Anne Darga, Dale K. Dedrick, Denise Landis |
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Rok vydání: | 1989 |
Předmět: |
Aircraft
business.industry Defibrillation Critically ill medicine.medical_treatment Electric Countershock Medical equipment Avionics Emergency treatment medicine.disease Electronic equipment Electric Power Supplies Transportation of Patients Electricity Risk Factors Emergency Medicine Medicine Paddle Humans Medical emergency Electronics Safety business |
Zdroj: | Annals of emergency medicine. 18(1) |
ISSN: | 0196-0644 |
Popis: | Rotary aircraft play a growing role in the transport of critically ill patients who may require emergency treatment, including defibrillation, during transport. The close quarters and proximity of vital electronic equipment have generated concern among personnel carrying out defibrillation in the air. We address the chief safety issues in helicopter defibrillation by providing measurements of the transient leakage current resulting from contact with a paddle and tested in-flight electronic interference and survey the defibrillation experience of helicopter programs. Our data show that airborne defibrillation is safe. A maximum of 1.5 mA of transient leakage current was measured from a standard battery-powered defibrillator, well within the accepted safety standard of 50 mA. In flight, there was no interference with the avionics or medical equipment, and adequate clearance was available for personnel. Of the helicopter programs surveyed, 69 (87%) had defibrillated in flight without incident. We conclude that defibrillation can be performed in the helicopter without hesitation whether on the ground or in the air, provided standard defibrillation precautions are observed. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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