Proper AED Procedures for Children

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is used to administer an electrical shock to assist in stimulating the heart after some sort of trauma that has disrupted the normal rhythm. AED use for children is rare, but cardiac arrest resulting from a ventricular fibrillation, V-Fib, does happen occasionally and it is good to be prepared.

Procedure

• The following procedure was extracted from the American Red Cross Lifeguarding Manuel.
  Conduct an overall assessment of the situation and condition of the child. Turn the AED on and wipe the chest dry. Attach the specialized children's pads, if available, one pad to the upper right side of the chest and the other on the lower left side, making sure that these pads do not touch. Plug the connector into the AED. Make sure no one is touching the child and clearly state "everyone stand clear."" Push the analyze button so it can assess the heart rhythm. If a shock is needed, the AED will instruct you to push the button to do so. If this is the case, make sure to again make sure that no one touches the child while this is done. After the shock, or if none was advised, perform 2 minutes or 5 cycles of CPR before hitting the analyze button again. If there is any obvious signs of life at any point, stop performing CPR and monitor the child. Keep repeating this cycle until an EMS professional can replace you.

Other Considerations

• The children's AED pads administer a lower dose of electricity than adult pads do when activated. Make sure not to touch the victim while AED is analyzing or shocking. Don't use alcohol to wipe the chest dry. Don't use AED around anything flammable, in a moving vehicle, if the victim is touching water, if the victim is wearing a nitroglycerin patch or any other patch on the chest, or use a cell phone or radio within 6 feet of the AED.