Campus AED helps to rescue Shanghai student

Ti Gong

A university student was rescued with an automated external defibrillator after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest during a running test.

This is believed to be the first case of a student saved via an AED on campus at any Chinese college and it is also the first successful case reported since the Shanghai Red Cross Society launched a charity program in 2015 to install AEDs at local universities.

The student has recovered and been released from hospital, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology told Shanghai Daily yesterday.

The drama occurred on October 17 when students were participating in a 1,000-meter run as part of a physique test.

The student Li Xiang fell down to the ground 50 meters away from the finishing line and lost consciousness.

The PE teacher turned him over to put him on his back to prevent breathing disorders.

A school doctor, Li Changlin, arrived and began cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). An ambulance was called and the university’s AED was brought to the scene.

It began analyzing the student’s heart rate for the first time around 4:22pm and suggested no electric shock treatment was needed, but 12 minutes later, it made a second analysis and reversed its advice.

The doctor pressed the shock button and continued CPR after that.

The AED device’s electro-cardiogram returned to normal about 30 seconds later, signaling the student had recovered breathing.

Other doctors at the university took turns to perform CPR until an ambulance arrived and took the student to Xinhua Hospital for further treatment. Around 10pm, he recovered consciousness in the hospital.

“The student was successfully rescued due to joint efforts of our teachers and school doctors, and also the help of professional AED,” said Dr Li.