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Cardiac arrest

Device damage with dual defibrillation

Device damage and malfunction during dual defibrillation or dual electrical cardioversion: a scoping review
Resuscitation · Added 27 July 2026

To map and characterize device damage and malfunction associated with dual defibrillator use in defibrillation and cardioversion, which is increasingly employed in both elective and emergency settings, and to identify knowledge gaps relevant to practice and future research.MethodsWe conducted a scop

Study type
Systematic review
Design
Scoping review including published studies and regulatory adverse event databases
Participants
29 records (2016–2026): 5 published sources and 24 regulatory adverse event reports
Main finding
Eight lasting device damage events and four temporary malfunctions identified across published sources; among 24 regulatory reports, 11 described device damage and 16 described malfunctions. Damage was often not recognised during the index event and found on later testing or self-checks.
Caveat
Scoping review relying on heterogeneous published sources and voluntary adverse event reports; no denominator, so incidence cannot be estimated
Bottom line
Hypothesis-generating

Learning goal

Recognise the risk of occult defibrillator damage when using dual defibrillation for refractory arrhythmias.

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