Version July 2025
| • VF is the initial rhythm in 9 to 19 percent of children experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. |
| • Survival with VF is better than survival with asystole. |
| • Defibrillation is indicated for the treatment of VF and pulseless VT. |
| • AEDs are computerized machines that automatically diagnose VF and use voice prompts to instruct rescuers to defibrillate, if appropriate. |
| • AEDs have demonstrated both high sensitivity in detecting VF and high specificity in identifying nonshockale rhythms in children. |
• For infants and children with VF or pulseless VT, shock delivery may be accomplished by the following devices (in order of preference):
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| • For in-hospital defibrillation, there are no data comparing manual defibrillators with AEDs or clear guidelines specifying the use of one over the other. |
| • AEDs cannot be used for cardioversion. |
