So you and your staff have updated your CPR training and your instructor taught you how to use an AED. Do you need an AED in your office?? Really?
Some states have enacted legislation requiring dentists to have an AED in their office. Let me describe a scenario that happened in my office several years ago and then decide if an AED is for you.
I was in a new office which a colleague and I had built with a common reception area and foyer between two separate offices. We had been in the office for about 2 months. Both of us had established a protocol for emergencies and staff members were certified in CPR. Our patient, Ethel was a 69 year old widow and owner of a small jewelry store in the Oregon town where I practiced at the time. She was appointed to place a crown that had been prepared 2 weeks prior. Ethel was late for her appointment so I started to treat my next patient. Our receptionist had also called Ethel?s residence and was informed that she had gone to a dental appointment. We obviously became very concerned. About that time Ethel literally fell through the door separating the foyer from the reception room. The doctor next door and I assessed the situation and determined the patient to be in cardiac arrest (no pulse) and not breathing.
Protocol called for a 911 called to be placed by the receptionist. She gave the dispatcher our new office address, however, in the state of confusion, the dispatcher sent the EMTs to the old office which was 15 minutes in the wrong direction. The dentist next door and I administered CPR for 23 minutes before the paramedics arrived. By the time they took over, the patient did have a faint heart beat and was breathing though she was not conscious.
Ethel made it to the hospital and died an hour after arrival of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
At the time we did not have an AED in the office and neither did the paramedics. The year was 1984. Had we had an AED, I believe Ethel would have had a much greater chance of survival.
Can another SCA occur in our office? Anytime?..hundreds of thousands of people die of SCA each year. Many of our patients are older which increases the chances of SCA. I now believe that every dental/medical office and every business should have an AED available. It might be used to save YOUR life.
C. Stuart DMD
