Krannert Institute Shares Defibrillators With Indy Airport

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis International Airport is well grounded in preparing for medical emergencies because of the Krannert Institute of Cardiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Eleven new automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) were provided Tuesday, Oct. 21, to the airport as part of its participation in a National Institutes of Health study.

The Indianapolis International Airport was one of only two airports in the nation and one of 22 sites in Indianapolis and 41 sites statewide that participated in the three-year Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) trial. Nine trial sites evaluated for need, trial participation and demonstrated ability to initiate and maintain a PAD program were selected for redistribtuion of the AEDs used during the trial.

PAD involved placing defibrillators in public places that are frequented, in part, by adults older than 50, a population at risk for cardiac arrest. Employees at the locations were randomly assigned to receive standard CPR training or standard CPR training plus automatic external defibrillator training. AEDs are devices used to deliver electric shock to restore a regular rhythm after a cardiac arrest.

David Roberts, airport director for BAA Indianapolis, said that 50 to 60 airport and airline staff members received the training from the Krannert staff. The trained employees were then identified as immediate response teams when a suspected cardiac arrest was reported or witnessed in the terminal. For the next 24 months, data was gathered from team responses.

"We conservatively estimated that 20 million people pass through the airport terminal each year, including passengers, greeters and employees," said Roberts. "With the prevalence of cardiac health emergencies and the vital importance of treatment intervention at the early onset, we are extremely pleased to place these defibrillators in the terminal. These additional tools will supplement the skilled EMTs in our airport fire department in saving lives."

For every minute that passes without defibrillation after a person suffers a cardiac arrest, his or her survival rate decreases by 10 percent, cardiologists report.

The airport data, plus data from Indiana's other trial sites, will be part of the information released Nov. 11 when the PAD trial report is presented at the American Heart Association National Conference in Orlando, Fla. The principal investigator at Krannert for the PAD trial was William J. Groh, M.D., associate professor of cardiology at the IU School of Medicine.

"I am very pleased that the PAD trial will live on, so to speak, by redistributing the AEDs to the sites that were instrumental in the collection of data for the nationwide study," said Dr. Groh. "In Indiana, 97 AEDs will be redistributed to the various places that collected this important data."

Joining Roberts at the Oct. 21 presentation were Airport Fire Department Chief Rick Gentry, the training battalion chief Kevin Elmore, Dr. Groh and Sue Bondurant, B.A., R.N., clinical research coordinator for the PAD trial.

Additional information on the PAD trial can be obtained after Nov. 11 on the Public Access Defibrillatory Website at depts.washington.edu/padctc/index.htm.

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Media Contact: Mary Hardin
317-274-7722
mhardin@iupui.edu

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