I guess I’m talking about defibrillation. Is it just the movies, or is it how defibrillation actually works in real life ?
I mean, you are trying to revive someone, trying to bring them back to life. What’s the worse thing that can happen ? Why do they start from low voltages and increase it slowly, and get more and more anxious and dramatic every time they say “Go up to 350” or whatever.
I mean, the person is already dead. What’s the risk ? Why do they act so hesitant ? What’s there to lose ?
In: Biology
Increasing dose protocols are not generally used these days. Typically, every shock is delivered at maximum.
Historically, there have been some escalating protocols used, starting at for example 200 Joules, and if that doesn’t work, then switch to the maximum (typically 360 J) from then on. The idea being that, if it’s an easy defibrillation, you can save the skin burns, neurological problems, heart “stunning” and other side effects.
However, these days, defibrillators typically use lower energies with optimized shaped waveforms, which can have the same effectiveness as an old maximum energy shock with half the energy. These typically are set to maximum energy for every shock.
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