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8 Manual Defibrillation
8.1 Manual Defibrillation Safety Information
• Defibrillation current can cause operator or bystander severe injury or even death. Never touch the
patient or any metal objects connected to the patient (including the bed or gurney) during
defibrillation.
• Avoid contact between parts of the patient’s body such as exposed skin of head or limbs, conductive
fluids such as gel, blood, or saline, and metal objects such as a bed frame or a stretcher which may
provide unwanted pathways for the defibrillating current.
• Do not allow electrode pads and paddles to touch each other or to touch other ECG monitoring
electrodes, lead wires, dressings, etc. Contact with metal objects may cause electrical arcing and
patient skin burns during defibrillation and may divert current away from the heart.
• During manual defibrillation, make sure your hands are dry and free from conductive gel to avoid
shock hazard.
• Use care when operating this equipment close to oxygen sources (such as bag-valve-mask devices or
ventilator tubing). Turn off gas source or move source away from patient during defibrillation. This
can cause an explosion hazard.
• During synchronized cardioversion, if monitoring patient’s ECG through external paddles, artifact
introduced by paddle movement may resemble an R-wave and trigger a defibrillation shock.
• Do not use conductive liquid. Use only conductive gel specified by the equipment manufacturer.
• If external paddles are used for defibrillation, apply the external paddles tightly and evenly to the
patient’s chest to ensure good skin contact.
• Never apply the paddles to human body to verify paddle connection.
• Clinicians must select an appropriate energy level for defibrillation of pediatric patients.
• Never charge and deliver shock frequently in non-clinical situations. Otherwise equipment damage
could occur.
• Use of Manual Defib mode may be password protected. Make sure the operator knows and
remembers the password as defined in Configuration. Failure to enter correct password will prevent
the delivery of manual defibrillation therapy.
• Clear the conductive gel from the external paddles at the completion of the therapy to prevent the
paddles from being corroded.
• Prior to using the equipment, disconnect the patient from all equipment that is not defibrillator-
protected.
• Never charge and deliver shock frequently in non-clinical situations. Otherwise equipment damage
could occur.
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