Lifepak 20 - Biphasic & Hands-on Shock

[rwik123]

So apparentliy with any biphasic defib according to Dr. Weingart, you can shock while hands are on the body? (with gloves on)... at 1:50 in this video.

I had NEVER heard of this. Any truth to it? Or is he referring to pacing not an actual high joule shock.

https://vimeo.com/27920334

 

[Medic Tim]

So apparentliy with any biphasic defib according to Dr. Weingart, you can shock while hands are on the body? (with gloves on)... at 1:50 in this video.

I had NEVER heard of this. Any truth to it? Or is he referring to pacing not an actual high joule shock.

https://vimeo.com/27920334

I have been told we are looking into this. we use the Mrx.

 

[STXmedic]

I've heard this several times. Never had the desire to test it out, though.

 

[Christopher]

So apparentliy with any biphasic defib according to Dr. Weingart, you can shock while hands are on the body? (with gloves on)... at 1:50 in this video.

I had NEVER heard of this. Any truth to it? Or is he referring to pacing not an actual high joule shock.

https://vimeo.com/27920334

He's talking about compressions through the defibrillation. It certainly can be done and is safe with biphasic devices (been on the receiving end). The only issue with this is rhythm identification still requires a pause in compressions or at best a filter on the ECG to remove your compression artifact.

As an alternative, If you precharge the defibrillator you can take no more than 5 seconds to interpret and shock and use that time to swap rescuers, obviating the need for hands-on-defib.

 

[Shishkabob]

Yes, it's true.


There are studies being done looking at the efficacy of continuing compressions during shocking.

 

[Physio Control]

Physio-Control recommends that caregivers continue to pause compressions during defibrillation shocks. Evidence so far has not proven that hands-on defibrillation is safe and so caution should be advised.

In fact, Physio-Control researchers recently performed a study examining the response of medical examination gloves to defibrillation voltages. The results are published in the Resuscitation article, “Will Medical Examination Gloves Protect Rescuers From Defibrillation Voltages During Hands-on Defibrillation?”

The study led researchers to conclude that few of the gloves tested limited the current to levels proven to be safe. A lack of sensation during hands-on defibrillation does not guarantee that a safety margin exists. As such, Physio-Control encourages rescuers to minimize rather than eliminate the pause in compressions for defibrillation.