Abstract

Limited data have been published on the use of external defibrillators that deliver impedance compensated biphasic (ICB) waveforms in patients. We compared 2 ICB defibrillators, the Heartstream XL (150-150-150 J protocol) and Heartsine Samaritan (100-150-200 J protocol) in 78 consecutive patients in cardiac arrest. The performance of the 2 devices over the first 2 shocks was statistically equivalent. By the third shock, the Heartsine Samaritan had significantly better performance in removing ventricular fibrillation (p = 0.029). Energy selection for ICB waveforms requires further validation.