Do doctors position defibrillation paddles correctly?
Defibrillation is necessary to restore normal sinus rhythm in a patient having a ventricular fibrillation arrest. Each minute of delay in restoring sinus rhythm increases mortality by 7-10%.1 Successful defibrillation requires depolarisation of a critical mass of myocardium, which is most likely to be achieved if the defibrillation paddles are correctly placed. Recent guidelines from the European Resuscitation Council state that the sternal paddle should be placed “below the right clavicle in the mid-clavicular line” and that the apical paddle should be placed “over the left lower ribs in the mid/anterior axillary line.”2 The limited literature available and our own observations suggest that these anatomical positions are not adhered to during defibrillation.3 We undertook an observational study to assess paddle positioning during defibrillation.
