BACKGROUND: Use of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in children aged <8 years is not recommended. The purpose of this study was to develop an ECG database of shockable and nonshockable rhythms from a broad age range of pediatric patients and to test the accuracy of the Agilent Heartstream FR2 Patient Analysis System for sensitivity and specificity. METHODS AND RESULTS: Children aged </=12 years who either developed arrhythmias or were at risk for developing arrhythmias were studied. Two sources were used for the database: children whose rhythms were recorded prospectively via a modified AED and children who had arrhythmias captured on paper and digitized for subsequent analysis. The rhythms were divided into 5-second strips, classified by 3 reviewers, and then assessed by the AED analysis algorithm. A total of 696 five-second rhythm strips from 191 children (81 female and 110 male) aged 1 day to 12 years (median 3.0 years) were analyzed. There was 100% specificity for nonshockable rhythms. Sensitivity for ventricular fibrillation was 96%. CONCLUSIONS: There was excellent AED rhythm analysis sensitivity and specificity in all age groups for ventricular fibrillation and nonshockable rhythms. The high specificity and sensitivity indicate that there is a very low risk of an inappropriate shock and that the AED correctly identifies shockable rhythms, making the algorithm both safe and effective for children.
BACKGROUND: Use of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in children aged <8 years is not recommended. The purpose of this study was to develop an ECG database of shockable and nonshockable rhythms from a broad age range of pediatric patients and to test the accuracy of the Agilent Heartstream FR2 Patient Analysis System for sensitivity and specificity. METHODS AND RESULTS:Children aged </=12 years who either developed arrhythmias or were at risk for developing arrhythmias were studied. Two sources were used for the database: children whose rhythms were recorded prospectively via a modified AED and children who had arrhythmias captured on paper and digitized for subsequent analysis. The rhythms were divided into 5-second strips, classified by 3 reviewers, and then assessed by the AED analysis algorithm. A total of 696 five-second rhythm strips from 191 children (81 female and 110 male) aged 1 day to 12 years (median 3.0 years) were analyzed. There was 100% specificity for nonshockable rhythms. Sensitivity for ventricular fibrillation was 96%. CONCLUSIONS: There was excellent AED rhythm analysis sensitivity and specificity in all age groups for ventricular fibrillation and nonshockable rhythms. The high specificity and sensitivity indicate that there is a very low risk of an inappropriate shock and that the AED correctly identifies shockable rhythms, making the algorithm both safe and effective for children.
Authors: Monica E Kleinman; Allan R de Caen; Leon Chameides; Dianne L Atkins; Robert A Berg; Marc D Berg; Farhan Bhanji; Dominique Biarent; Robert Bingham; Ashraf H Coovadia; Mary Fran Hazinski; Robert W Hickey; Vinay M Nadkarni; Amelia G Reis; Antonio Rodriguez-Nunez; James Tibballs; Arno L Zaritsky; David Zideman Journal: Circulation Date: 2010-10-19 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Monica E Kleinman; Allan R de Caen; Leon Chameides; Dianne L Atkins; Robert A Berg; Marc D Berg; Farhan Bhanji; Dominique Biarent; Robert Bingham; Ashraf H Coovadia; Mary Fran Hazinski; Robert W Hickey; Vinay M Nadkarni; Amelia G Reis; Antonio Rodriguez-Nunez; James Tibballs; Arno L Zaritsky; David Zideman Journal: Pediatrics Date: 2010-10-18 Impact factor: 7.124