Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, Otterbourne, SO21 2RU, UK.
Resuscitation. 2018 Jul;128:93-96. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2018.04.006. Epub 2018 Apr 11.
Early defibrillation is a critical link in the chain of survival. Public access defibrillation (PAD) programmes utilising automated external defibrillators (AEDs) aim to decrease the time-to-first-shock, and improve survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Effective use of PADs requires rapid location of the device, facilitated by adequate signage. We aimed to therefore assess the quality of signage for PADs in the community.
From April 2017 to January 2018 we surveyed community PADs available for public use on the 'Save a Life' AED locator mobile application in and around Southampton, UK. Location and signage characteristics were collected, and the distance from the furthest sign to the AED was measured.
Researchers evaluated 201 separate PADs. All devices visited were included in the final analysis. No signage at all was present for 135 (67.2%) devices. Only 15/201 (7.5%) AEDs had signage at a distance from AED itself. In only 5 of these cases (2.5%) was signage mounted more than 5.0 m from the AED. When signage was present, 46 used 2008 ILCOR signage and 15 used 2006 Resuscitation Council (UK) signage. Signage visibility was partially or severely obstructed at 27/66 (40.9%) sites. None of the 45 GP surgeries surveyed used exterior signage or an exterior 24/7 access box.
Current signage of PADs is poor and limits the device effectiveness by impeding public awareness and location of AEDs. Recommendations should promote visible signage within the operational radius of each AED.
早期除颤是生存链中的关键环节。利用自动体外除颤器（AED）的公众可获取除颤（PAD）计划旨在缩短首次电击时间，并提高院外心脏骤停患者的存活率。有效使用 PAD 需要快速找到设备，这需要充分的标识来辅助。因此，我们旨在评估社区内 PAD 的标识质量。
从 2017 年 4 月至 2018 年 1 月，我们调查了英国南安普顿及其周边地区“拯救生命”AED 定位移动应用程序中可用于公众使用的社区内 PAD。收集了位置和标识特征，并测量了从最远标识到 AED 的距离。
研究人员评估了 201 个单独的 PAD。所有访问的设备都包含在最终分析中。有 135 个（67.2%）设备完全没有标识。在 201 个 AED 中，只有 15/201（7.5%）的 AED 标识位于距离 AED 本身一定距离处。在这 5 个案例中（2.5%），标识安装距离 AED 超过 5.0 米。当有标识时，46 个使用了 2008 年 ILCOR 标识，15 个使用了 2006 年复苏理事会（英国）标识。在 27/66（40.9%）个地点，标识可见性部分或严重受阻。在调查的 45 家全科医生诊所中，没有一家使用外部标识或外部 24/7 访问盒。
当前 PAD 的标识很差，限制了设备的有效性，因为这阻碍了公众对 AED 的认识和定位。建议应促进每个 AED 的操作半径内可见的标识。
