Study Shows Defibrillators are Easy for Ship's Crew to Use

A study called 'implementation of automated external defibrillators on merchant ships' published in the Journal of Travel Medicine has looked into the ability of ship's officers to successfully deliver an effective defibrillation shock.

Here is a copy of the abstract from the study:

  

Background. In contrast to cruise ships, ferries and merchant ships are rarely equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Germany is the first flag state worldwide that legally requires to carry AEDs on seagoing merchant vessels by September 2012 at the latest.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of training ship officers in the handling of AEDs and to explore their perceptions concerning the user-friendliness of currently available defibrillators.

Methods. Using four different AEDs, 130 nautical officers performed a total of 400 resuscitation drills. One group (n = 60) used only one device before and after resuscitation training; the other group (n = 70) used all four AEDs in comparison after training. The officers' performances were timed and they were asked by questionnaire about the user-friendliness of each AED.

Results. Without resuscitation training, 81.7% of the first mentioned group delivered an effective defibrillation shock. After a 7-hour resuscitation training with special regard to defibrillation, all ship officers (n = 130) used the AED correctly. Among all AEDs, the mean time until start of analysis decreased from 72.4 seconds before to 60.4 seconds after resuscitation training (Wilcoxon test; p < 0.001). The results of the questionnaire and the differences in time to first shock indicated a different user-friendliness of the AEDs. The voice prompts and the screen messages of all AEDs were well understood by all participants. In the second mentioned group, 57.1% regarded feedback information related to depths and frequency of thorax compression as helpful.

Lifeforce Marine AED

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the world’s biggest killer, killing over 3 million people worldwide every year. Even on land the chances of the emergency services reaching a victim in time are slim, at sea the chances are zero.

The only proven way to treat SCA is by delivering an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heart rhythm. This is called defibrillation and can make the difference between saving a life and having a victim die. If a victim receives defibrillation within the vital first 3 minutes the chances of survival are increased by up to a staggering 70%.

The Lifeforce Marine AED is the easiest to use defibrillator on the market and is the only defibrillator tested and Type Approved for use in the hostile marine environment.

Find out more about Lifeforce Marine AED. 

Fleet Wide Defibrillator Order Highlights Trefin Tankers’ Commitment to Crew Welfare

Trefin Tankers Equip Fleet With Lifeforce Marine AED

Trefin Tankers (GR) recently equipped their entire fleet of vessels with the Lifeforce AED from Martek Marine to provide effective treatment in the event of any of their crew suffering a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) while at sea.

SCA is the world’s biggest killer claiming the lives of around 3 million people worldwide each year. Using a defibrillator to restore a normal heart rhythm within the first 3 minutes can improve survival rates by up to a staggering 70%. For every minute after this that elapses, the chances of survival reduce by 10%. Without an on-board defibrillator the chances of surviving an SCA at sea are zero.

The Lifeforce AED is the only defibrillator in the world to be Type Approved specifically for use in the hostile marine environment, offering confidence that it can be relied upon to give life saving treatment when it’s needed most.

Trefin place a great deal of importance on the welfare of the men who serve on their vessels and view the provision of a marine approved defibrillator as an important piece of equipment in ensuring their safety.

Speaking about the decision to equip their vessels with the Lifeforce AED, Chartering & Operations Director Mr Efstathiou commented:

“Trefin Tankers are proud to equip their fleet with Lifeforce – the world’s only marine approved defibrillator for treating Sudden Cardiac Arrest at sea. SCA kills three million people every year. By investing in Lifeforce, Trefin have demonstrated their commitment to crew welfare across the globe.”

Find out more about the Lifeforce marine AED.

Find out more about sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)

Airport Drama Highlights Importance of Defibrillators

A recent tour of Germany by Martek Marine to promote a piece of equipment to save the lives of crews at sea got off to a dramatic and eventful start with an unscheduled real life demonstration in the airport.

Jonathan Love, Martek Marine’s Regional Sales Manager for Southern Europe, had not even left British soil when he was called on to use the equipment for real.

Jonathan explains:

“I was queuing at my local Airport to catch a flight to Hamburg where I had five of the largest German Ship owners lined up for a demonstration of our LIFEFORCE Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

Little did I know I would shortly be called upon to test the simplicity and ease of use of this life saving piece of equipment for real!”

Wisely, Steve Coulson, Business Development Manager at Martek Marine, had taken an earlier decision to invest in live units for these demonstrations instead of the usual low cost inactive samples that are commonly used by the competition. Jonathan continues:

“A lady in front of me suddenly keeled over in the queue. Aware that Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is one of the world’s biggest killers (taking over 3 million lives per year) I went straight to her and began to administer first aid.”

The casualty was placed in the recovery position after Jonathan cleared an obstruction in her airway allowing her to breathe more freely.

“Applying the LIFEFORCE defibrillator to the casualty who was now unconscious and breathing erratically, I feared the worst. It is critical to administer treatment for SCA as soon as possible as any chance of survival lowers after the first few minutes of such an incident. However, the system reported in detail that the patient’s heart was functioning normally and the cause of the collapse was not related at this stage to any issue with her heart. In such cases, the LIFEFORCE unit will not administer a shock in a further stage of casualty protection. With her condition still deteriorating however, I kept the unit in place as advised by my training in case the primary condition, now believed to be the result of a head trauma from several years ago, triggered an SCA event.”

“The casualty remained unconscious for well over thirty minutes until the paramedics arrived. Calming her travel partner during this period, the casualty slowly regained consciousness in the airport concourse while still attached to the lifesaving equipment. I was glad when the Paramedics arrived and took over the duty of care.”

“I urge you to consider securing a LIFEFORCE unit whether you are on a vessel or simply in an office as you will never be given a warning when you may need to use one for real. SCA will strike without any prejudice at anytime. Our aim is to have every vessel equipped with this life saving equipment”.

In a stark reflection of the wide reach of SCA in the population, the reason it took Paramedics 30 minutes to attend to the woman was that they had actually been delayed because they had been treating an SCA victim in another part of the airport.

Find out more about Martek's defibrillators for your ships and offices.

Training Not Essential to Save a Life With a Defibrillator

There’s a growing debate in the marine industry about the importance of on-board automated external defibrillators (AEDs) with the seafarer’s union Nautilus International calling for the carriage of defibrillators on-board all ships as the only treatment of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

While the majority of companies can see that a defibrillator is the only way of giving their crew members a chance of surviving SCA while at sea, you may be one of the companies who still remain concerned about the cost and logistics involved in training all your crew members to use the device in addition to the cost of actually purchasing the units.

Although training is desirable it is by no means a necessity as outlined in the “statement on the training required to use an automated external defibrillator” released by the Resuscitation Council (UK) – the UK body responsible for setting central standards for cardiopulmonary resuscitation – and backed by the British Heart Foundation:

“Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are designed to be used by members of the public, and are very effective at guiding the operator through the process of administering the shock. They have become widely available, are safe and easy to use, and will not allow a shock to be given to a victim who does not require one.

AEDs have been used frequently by laypeople with modest training, and many reports testify to the success of this strategy. Operators without formal training have also used AEDs successfully to save lives.

While it is highly desirable that those who may be called upon to use an AED should be trained in their use, and keep their skills up to date, circumstances can dictate at no trained operator (or a trained operator whose certificate of training has expired) is present at the site of an emergency. Under these circumstances no inhibitions should be placed on any person willing to use an AED.

It is the view of the Resuscitation Council (UK) that the use of AEDs should NOT be restricted to trained personnel...”

Click here to read the full Resuscitation Council statement.

As the above statement from the Resuscitation Council (UK) clearly shows, even though training is desirable it is not essential in order for your crew to use the defibrillator effectively. Modern defibrillators are designed to be used by non-medically trained personnel and are simple to operate.

Training can always be carried out at a later date when budgets allow. By having a defibrillator on-board at least you can have the means available to treat a sudden cardiac arrest victim. A defibrillator in an untrained hand is still an effective lifesaver while not having a defibrillator on-board your ships means your crews’ chances of surviving SCA at sea are zero.

Find out more about the Lifeforce® Marine Defibrillator

We are always interested in finding out what our industry colleagues think about this subject so please feel free to leave a comment.

Visit our website: www.martek-marine.com