07 to 1.40). After the AED training, 70 officers absolved a resuscitation drill with all 4 AEDs (in total 280 drills). The mean time period between switching on the device and shocking was 75.8 seconds

(SD: ±21.8 seconds). The mean time from switch on until start of ECG analysis ranged from 51.1 seconds (HeartSave AED-M) to 63.8 seconds (AED Plus) (Figure 2). According to the questionnaire, the officers were pleased with the user-friendliness of the AEDs; it was easier to open the cover of HeartStart FR2+ and Defi FRED easy than of the other two; furthermore, the officers had no problems switching on the AEDs (mean from 1.07 to 1.62), recognizing Crizotinib molecular weight the shock button (mean from 1.07 to 1.39), and pressing the shock button (mean from 1.11 to 1.24). The comprehensibility of the AEDs Selleckchem Sirolimus was also favorably evaluated; the seafarers

had no problems understanding the voice prompts acoustically (mean from 1.14 to 1.50), the meaning of the German voice prompts (mean from 1.43 to 1.87), or the screen messages (mean from 1.44 to 1.87). The seafarers found the electrodes easy to unwrap (mean from 1.33 to 2.00). The electrodes’ illustrations of AED Plus were unclear and caused problems to find the correct anatomical positioning (mean 3.6). Furthermore, some officers had problems connecting the electrodes with the HeartSave AED-M (mean 2.9). In the free text in the questionnaire, the seafarers stated the strengths and weaknesses of the different AEDs. The major aspects of criticism given by at least 10% of the officers are summarized in Table 1. While 25 seafarers appreciated the pictogram instructions

of AED Plus, 19 regarded them as confusing. Concerning the one-piece electrode of AED Plus, 23 seafarers noted having problems finding the correct anatomical position on the basis of the AED’s figure drawing (mean 2.06). Compared with two-piece electrodes, 40 seafarers (57.1%) preferred the one-piece one for cardiopulmonary resuscitation because the feedback on the depth and frequency of thorax compressions was regarded as helpful. Germany is the first flag state that legally requires merchant seagoing ships to carry an AED. Thus, it is of interest to the community of scientists and health care providers in maritime medicine to get information from the German experience. BCKDHB Our results demonstrate that 81.7% of the nautical officers delivered an effective defibrillation shock without training in the handling of AEDs. After resuscitation training, all ship officers shocked effectively and none of the participants touched the manikin during shocking. Our results in nautical officers are comparable with other study populations. In a recent study of 236 laypersons, 85.6% were able to deliver a shock by a mean time to shock of 77.5 seconds. After minimal training, 92.8% were able to deliver a shock. The time to shock decreased to 55.0 seconds after training.