APRIL 2001 37:4 ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE S41 RESUSCITATION SCIENCE OF PEDIATRICS Panel Members: Dianne L. Atkins, MD* Leon Chameides, MD ‡ Mary E. Fallat, MD § Mary Fran Hazinski, RN, MSN II Barbara Phillips, MD ¶ Linda Quan, MD # Charles L. Schleien, MD** Thomas E. Terndrup, MD ‡‡ James Tibballs, MD §§ David A. Zideman, MD II II From University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA*; Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford, CT ‡ ; University of Louisville, Louisville, KY § ; Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN II ; Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital, Liver- pool, England ¶ ; Children’s Hospital Regional Medical Center, Seattle, WA # ; Columbia University, New York, NY**; University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL ‡‡ ; Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia §§ ; and Hammersmith Hospital, London, England. IIII Reprints of single articles are available online at www.mosby.com/AnnEmergMed for $35 per article. Address for correspondence: Mary Fran Hazinski, RN, MSN, 2100 Pierce Ave, 243 MCS, Nashville, TN 37212; E-mail mary.f.hazinski@vanderbilt.edu. Joint copyright © 2001 by the American Heart Association and the American College of Emergency Physicians. 0196-0644/2001/$35.00 + 0 47/0/114121 doi:10.1067/mem.2001.114121 [Atkins DL, Chameides L, Fallat ME, Hazinski MF, Phillips B, Quan L, Schleien CL, Terndrup TE, Tibballs J, Zideman DA. Resuscitation science of pediatrics. Ann Emerg Med. April 2001;37:S41-S48.] Topic 1: Use of Automated External Defibrillators in Children 1992 GUIDELINES The 1992 guidelines did not comment on the use of auto- mated external defibrillators (AEDs) in children. In gen- eral, the 1992 guidelines noted that pediatric guidelines for out-of-hospital basic life support by definition applied only to children <8 years old. Adult basic life support guidelines, including those on use of AEDs, applied to children ≥8 years old. PROPOSED ADDITION OR CHANGE Clinical algorithms should state positive support for the use of AEDs to treat ventricular fibrillation (VF) in chil- dren ≥8 years of age (Class IIb, level of evidence [LOE] 6). AEDs may be used for rhythm classification only (analysis mode) in children 1 to 8 years old (but not in- fants <1 year old) (Class IIb) but cannot be recommended at this time to provide shocks because of the rhythm algo- rithm of AEDs (Class IIb). NEW SCIENCE Asystole is the most common cardiac rhythm detected by emergency medical services personnel in children with cardiac arrest. 1,2 A recent review of the literature noted that studies documented VF in ≅10% of all pediatric car- diac arrest victims. 1 In 1 retrospective study, the inci- dence of VF in children was found to be 20%, but that was after exclusion of sudden infant death syndrome and Resuscitation Science of Pediatrics