66 Regional variations in aed deployment, accessibility and early defibrillation: a nationwide study

Aim Current resuscitation guidelines recommend early defibrillation by publicly accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs). However, little is known on regional variations in AED deployment, 24/7 accessibility and bystander defibrillation on a nationwide level. Method We identified all publicly available AEDs registered in the Danish AED network (2007–2016). AED density, type of location, 24/7 accessibility and bystander defibrillation were examined according to regional differences in Denmark. Results Of 17,106 AEDs registered nationwide (=297.7 AEDs/100,000 inhabitants), the largest quantity and density of AEDs were in The Capital Region (n=5,120, 29.9%), 110.8 AEDs/100,000 inhabitants/1000 km2, followed by Southern Denmark (n=4,082, 23.9%), 27.4 AEDs/100,000 inhabitants/1000 km2, Central Jutland (n=3,644, 21.3%), 21.5 AEDs/100,000 inhabitants/1000 km2, Zealand (n=2,269, 13.3%), 37.8 AEDs/100,000 inhabitants/1000 km2 and Northern Jutland (n=1,991, 11.6%), 43.0 AEDs/100,000 inhabitants/1000 km2. Northern Jutland had the highest proportion of 24/7 AED accessibility (50.2%), followed by Southern Denmark (47.5%), Zealand (44.5%), Central Jutland (41.0%) and The Capital Region (29.1%). The corresponding public defibrillation rates were 12.5%, 23.5%, 9.7%, 13.5% and 11.8%, respectively. ‘Companies/offices’ were the most frequent location for AED placement in all five regions, however, with a low 24/7 accessibility ranging from 11.4% to 31.3%. Conclusion In Denmark, we found a marked difference in regional AED density ranging from 21.5 to 110.8 AEDs/100,000 inhabitants/1000 km2, as well as 24/7 accessibility ranging from 29.1% to 50.2%. The most frequent location of AED placement for all regions was ‘Companies/offices’, which generally had low 24/7 accessibility. Finally, public OHCA defibrillation rates ranged from 9.7% to 23.5%. Conflict of interest None Funding The Danish AED Network and The Danish Cardiac Arrest Registry are funded by The private Foundation TrygFonden with no commercial interest in the field of cardiac arrest.