Background The automated external defibrillator (AED) can restore normal heart rhythm in cardiac arrest victims. Early defibrillation correlates with increased rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival. However, AED availability remains a challenge. We aimed to measure key time intervals and observe impact of mobilizing the taxi’s AEDs on pre-hospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC).

Method One-hundred and twenty taxi drivers were CPR and AED trained. They were then assigned to taxis equipped with AEDs, and thereafter alerted to OHCA cases via phone app. A retrospective analysis of this intervention was conducted.

Results From November 2015 to December 2017, 4088 phone alerts were sent out to taxis, 374 accepted the cases, and 127 arrived at scene. Of those who arrived on scene, 18 walked 198.6 metres on average, while 104 drove an average of 891.8 metres; 5 are missing data. Average time for drivers to accept a case when activated was 1 minute, 4 seconds (fastest=0, slowest=13 minutes); from activation to arrival at scene was 6 minutes, 22 seconds (fastest=1, slowest=31 minutes), and from acceptance to arrival at scene was 5 minutes, 19 seconds (fastest=0, slowest=30 minutes). Only two cases resulted in pre-hospital ROSC.

Conclusion Our data shows that taxis with AEDs arrived on scene within 7 minutes on average, which is faster than the average for EMS ambulances. Taxis can get AEDs on scene before an ambulance arrives, however further exploration into reason(s) and solutions for low response is needed.

Conflict of interest None.

Funding Singapore Heart Foundation and Temasek Cares.