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Therapeutic Indices For Transchest Defibrillator Shocks: Effective, Damaging, And Lethal Electrical Doses, Charles F. Babbs, Willis A. Tacker, John F. Vanvleet, Joe D. Bourland, Leslie A. Geddes

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Although prospective studies of defibrillator shock overdose cannot be performed in man, the therapeutic indices of various defibrillating current waveforms can be measured in animals. We determined the ratios TD50/ED50 and LD50/ ED50 (where TD50 = median "toxic" or damageinducing dose, ED50 = median effective or defibrillating dose, and LD50 = median lethal dose) as measures of the therapeutic index for damped sine wave defibrillator shocks in dogs. Death of an animal and/or any degree of cardiac damage found by gross or microscopic examination were defined as harmful effects of shock, analogous to drug toxicity. In terms of peak current, …