Double Sequential External Defibrillation (DSED) BY JENNA WULFF, TORONTO FIRE FIGHTER, STATION 227-C AND EMS COMMITTEE
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest accounts for over 350,000 unexpected deaths each year in North America. Nearly 100,000 of these deaths are specifically attributable to VF (ventricular fibrillation), which is a dangerous arrhythmia/irregular heart rate, or PVT (pulseless ventricular tachycardia), which are rapid ineffective contractions.
What is Double Sequential External Defibrillation (DSED)? Double sequential external defibrillation involves the use of two defibrillators, which are most often placed with one set of defibrillator pads placed in the standard anterior-lateral position and a second set placed in the anterior-
Video Example of DSED:
posterior position, to deliver two shocks in rapid succession.
www.youtube.com/ watch?v=NmoERV9EmG0
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