To think if a person is attached to a de fib

[Sinceyouvebeenggone]

They are in a serious condition if they are attached to a de fib in hospital.

Well, it can't get much worse can it

Do you understand what a de fib does?

Not enough detail here. Sometimes we’d have someone with a potentially unstable rhythm or a very fast heart rate and put the sticky pads on them just in case. Sometimes it’s even just a bit of a superstitious thing, the patient comes in, the nurse has a bad feeling, and decides to pre-empt badness by putting the pads on.

Manual defibs like the kind used in hospital can also be used to “pace” someone who has a very slow heart rate (for many different reasons) without delivering any shocks.

The pads can also just be used on a cardiac patient to monitor the rhythm.

I'm permanently attached to one, I have it implanted. Do you mean you know someone who is having that done?

What's the context here? Is someone you know attached to a defib? What's the circumstances?
In hospital defibrillators are used to also cardiovert when a patient has an abnormal heart rhythm or they're also used to externally pace a patient if their heart rhythm is slow.
Defibs are also put on patients as a precaution when they've had an episode of loss of consciousness, have chest pain or their early warning score is very high and they're worried about deterioration.
They're also put on as a precaution if they're going to have an elective heart operation.

@Sinceyouvebeenggone

They are in a serious condition if they are attached to a de fib in hospital.

I've seen children pushing external pacemakers around the ward in a trolley, together with whatever other lines they are on at that time.

Depends why they are attached to a defibrillator and what the exit plan is. People can be attached to a de fib if they have an unstable heart rhythm which may be corrected very easily by correcting their electrolytes. If someone is suspected of having a heart attack they will be attached to a de fib until further investigations are done.

@ZealAndArdour

Not enough detail here. Sometimes we’d have someone with a potentially unstable rhythm or a very fast heart rate and put the sticky pads on them just in case. Sometimes it’s even just a bit of a superstitious thing, the patient comes in, the nurse has a bad feeling, and decides to pre-empt badness by putting the pads on.

Manual defibs like the kind used in hospital can also be used to “pace” someone who has a very slow heart rate (for many different reasons) without delivering any shocks.

The pads can also just be used on a cardiac patient to monitor the rhythm.

Must be a lot of de fibs circulating in this hospital!

@ShinySquirrel

I'm permanently attached to one, I have it implanted. Do you mean you know someone who is having that done?

Are you also in hospital?

A cardiac monitor and a defib are two different things. I would suggest they are on a monitor.

@Toanewstart22 there are approximately 130 defibrillators in my Trust. Each ward has 1 sometimes 2, there is one in every surgical theatre, each communal non clinical area has one. Each hospital has to follow the quality standards set by the resuscitation council which stipulates that in the case of cardiac arrest, you should be able to shock a patient within 3 minutes of collapse. Therefore, no hospital patient is more than a 3 minute walk away from a defibrillator.

Can you explain exactly what you mean?

Because I get the impression everyone is a crossed purposes.

@Toanewstart22

Well yeah, in resus there’s generally one in every bay and several scattered around majors in an A&E department.

My comment about pre-empting badness was referring to a patient coming in with a non-cardiac problem who looks like they might go off, it wouldn’t be unheard of to put the pads on them. Instinct is a thing.

I really hope it's not the Op that is on the De-fib and their lack of replies on this thread isn't because something awful has happened 😳