Should we use double sequential external defibrillation?

Bernd W. Böttiger, MD, is a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the University of Cologne, Germany.

When should we perform double sequential external defibrillation?

There is a huge debate on this and we have just finished an International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) statement on this.

As far as I know, we only have one big study with many flaws and much criticism on the market. So, double sequence defibrillation may help, but we need to await further studies until we can recommend it for the whole world.

During these days it is recommended, if you have the availability, to do so. And my recommendation is wait until we have further data from other systems and from other institutions to confirm what has been found in one single randomized trial, which, by the way, was stopped early because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.