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- Title
Vorhalten und Einsatz eines externen Defibrillators in hausärztlichen Praxen.
- Authors
Hilgendorf, Svea; Blumenthal, Sandra
- Abstract
Background and purpose: Cardiovascular arrest is the most common cause of death in Germany. About 35% of patients experience cardiovascular arrest outside their own home. According to the 2021 resuscitation guidelines, uninterrupted chest compressions and early defibrillation are core elements of successful resuscitation treatment. In addition, participation of health care workers in resuscitation training improves patient outcome. We investigated the extent to which primary care practices have a defibrillator as part of their emergency equipment, how frequently it was used among respondents, and whether emergency training to maintain competency is provided in practices. Materials andmethods: We conducted a survey in the Listserve on the availability and use of defibrillators. A total of 215 physicians participated. Results: In all, 114 physicians work in practices that have a defibrillator and perform ergometry; 70 additional physicians work in practices that do not perform ergometry but still have a defibrillator. A total of 184, or 85.5% of all physicians, have a defibrillator available. Nearly 56% of physicians (120) feel confident or very confident in using defibrillators; another 84 (39%) feel somewhat confident; only 10 feel unsure, and 1 person feels very unsure. Emergency training in the practice is never conducted for 53 physicians. For 57 physicians, emergency training was conducted once a year within the practice, for 7 physicians more frequently than once a year. Furthermore, 36 physicians were trained in emergency management by an external provider once a year in the practice. In the last 5 years, 150 physicians of the 215 respondents (70%) never used the defibrillator in the practice, 34 once or twice, three 3-5 times, and two 5-8 times--a more frequent use was not indicated. Conclusion: The survey data show good availability of defibrillators in primary care practices. However, the provision of defibrillators should be discussed, particularly in practices with ergometry and in practices where emergency medical care is >10 min away. A frequent argument for not purchasing a defibrillator is the high cost. Thus, (financial) promotion of the provision of defibrillators in practices should be addressed by policymakers.
- Subjects
GERMANY; MEDICAL personnel; SURVIVAL &; emergency equipment; CHEST compressions; PATIENT experience; EMERGENCY medical services; EMERGENCY physicians
- Publication
ZFA: Zeitschrift für Allgemeinmedizin, 2024, Vol 100, Issue 1, p37
- ISSN
0937-6801
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s44266-023-00155-8