I watch the news for cardiac electrophysiology-related stuff, and most of it is press releases from this or that company about their new devices, but this article on theft of “crash cart” defibrillators is one of the more bizarre things I’ve seen. They say that it’s not affecting patient care, as they have more, but what if someone stole one and then a code was called. Someone could go to grab the crash cart only to find it missing (or defibrillator-less).

I figure the thief is either ignorant of the devices’ use and just grabbed them as a target of opportunity, or they have some diabolical plan to shock people. It’s not like other hospitals are going to buy them, and I’m sure the property management departments of the affected hospitals have reported the serial numbers to the police, so there go pawn shops. Can you see the sales pitch on Craigslist — “Slightly used high-voltage defibrillators. Bring your patients out of cardiac arrest! Amuse and kill your friends!”

Here’s hoping that the new year brings an end to this senseless theft.