Italian researchers report that nearly 2,200 volunteers used AEDs safely and effectively during the two-year Brescia Early Defibrillation Study. Fully operated by nonmedical personnel, the public health program in Brescia--a province in Italy roughly the size of Delaware--distributed 49 AEDs in public places. Data from the study show a significantly improved survival rate among cardiac arrest victims compared with historical survival rates, notably for survival without severe brain damage. The research team documented an increase in survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in urban as well as rural areas.
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