Influencia del Gel Seco sobre las Paletas para la Compensación de Impedancia en la Desfibrilación Externa

摘要

The delivery of a high-energy discharge to the thorax of a patient to be defibrillated or cardioverted with an external defibrillator is often carried out using metallic paddles. In order to improve the interface paddles-skin and decrease its value, it is customary to use a conducting gel as a means for improving the interface electrically. It is a common practice and an established procedure to clean the gel remaining on the metal electrodes of the paddles after the treatment of a patient. Occasionally this cleaning is not carried out, resulting in the formation of a crust of dry gel that interferes with the determination of impedance compensation. It is shown that the presence of this dry gel crust increases the real transthoracic impedance by a factor of three making that the energy dose delivered to the patient will be supplied with a higher voltage and current intensity increasing the collateral damages to the heart of a high-energy discharge if impedance compensation is used. It is concluded that paddles should be cleaned out of the remainder of the used gel.