Dicker & Garcia: The New Zealand DSED Study (7/3/26)

Double Sequential Defibrillation: What the Data Really Shows In October 2023, New Zealand became the first country outside Canada to roll out prehospital double sequential defibrillation (DSED) for refractory VF/VT. Eighteen months later, the results contradicted what the NEJM DOSE-VF trial had promised: no survival benefit, and lower ROSC among patients who received DSED compared to those who didn't. In this special, extended one hour session, Dr. Bridget Dicker and Elena Garcia (Hato Hone St John, Auckland University of Technology) walk through New Zealand's national DSED implementation study firsthand, followed by a discussion with Sheldon Cheskes, principal investigator of the NEJM DOSE-VF trial. Timing, patient selection, and methodology all shape what a headline result like "DSED doesn't work" actually means, and this conversation digs into all three. Hosted by Peter Antevy, MD, FAEMS