• M Oldenburg, X Baur, and C Schlaich.
• Department of Maritime Medicine, Hamburg Port Health Centre, Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine, ZfAM, University of Hamburg, D-20459 Hamburg, Germany. marcus.oldenburg@bgv.hamburg.de
• Occup Med (Lond). 2012 Mar 1; 62 (2): 117-22.

BackgroundGermany was the first country worldwide to issue a directive regulating the provision of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on board merchant ships.AimsTo test the applicability and suitability for telemedicine in seafaring, including long-term electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring, of three currently available AEDs.MethodsSixty nautical officers were asked to record and transmit a one-lead ECG with one of three AEDs under test. Subsequently, they evaluated the user-friendliness of the devices.ResultsThe number of steps required for ECG transmission (as a pdf file) varied from three to six between the various AEDs. Correspondingly, differences were found in the subjects' understanding of the AED software. After theoretical instruction in the use of the AEDs, 55 officers (92%) succeeded in telemedical transmission of the pdf file without any help. At the time of our investigation, long-term ECG monitoring was possible with only one of the AEDs.ConclusionsThe study results suggest that most trained lay rescuers can use conventional AEDs effectively for ECG transmission.

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