Does paddle force applied during defibrillation meet advanced life support guidelines of the European Resuscitation Council?

Objectives: to determine whether paddle force applied during defibrillation meets the 12 kg (approximate to 120 N) force recommended by the advanced life support (ALS) guidelines of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). Materials and methods: an adult mannequin was 'defibrillated' using standard defibrillation paddles instrumented to measure paddle force. Paddle force was recorded at the time the discharge buttons on the paddle handles were depressed. Results: 54 doctors and nurses performed simulated defibrillation on a mannequin. Median sternal paddle force was 60.6 N (range 26.1-132.8 N) and median apical paddle force was 59.5 N (range 18.6-118.5 N). Only 3/54 operators (5.6%) applied sternal paddle force equal to or in excess of ERC recommendations. No operator applied apical paddle force equal to or in excess of ERC recommendations. Conclusions: force applied to defibrillation paddles does not meet guidelines of the European Resuscitation Council. Greater emphasis during advanced life support training should be placed on the importance of firm paddle force during defibrillation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.