The Variation in Electrode Configuration for Termination of Out-of-Hospital Rhythms That Are Shockable in Cardiac Arrest Trial (VECTORS)

The Variation in Electrode Configuration for Termination of Out-of-Hospital Rhythms That Are Shockable (VECTORS) Trial: A Pragmatic Trial of Anterior-Posterior Versus Anterior-Lateral Initial Defibrillator Pad Placement for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two defibrillator pad placements, one where pads are placed on the front of the chest and back (anterior-posterior [AP]) and one where the pads are placed on the front and side of the chest (anterior-lateral [AL]), for the treatment of cardiac arrest. Both pad placement locations are recommended for use by the American Heart Association (AHA) and International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) and are used in standard treatment. The investigators are hoping to find out if one pad position is more effective than the other in the treatment of cardiac arrest.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Cardiac Arrest (CA)
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: defibrillator electrode pads

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 1500
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Joshua Lupton, MD, MPH; Phone Number: 503-418-6706; Email: lupton@ohsu.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Emergency medical services (EMS)-treated non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Exclusion Criteria:

• ROSC at EMS arrival (e.g., bystander AED shock with ROSC prior to EMS care) without rearrest during EMS care
• Known prisoners
• Known pregnant patients
• Known pediatric patients (treated under the pediatric algorithm, generally <15 years)
• Known preexisting do-not-resuscitate orders limiting care

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Anterior-Posterior; Defibrillation pads placed initially in the anterior-posterior position.	Device: defibrillator electrode pads; Application of defibrillator electrode pads to be used in cardiac arrest treatment
Active Comparator: Anterior-Lateral; Defibrillation pads placed initially in the anterior-lateral position.	Device: defibrillator electrode pads; Application of defibrillator electrode pads to be used in cardiac arrest treatment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Post-Shock Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC)	Any palpable pulse documented at any time after the first EMS shock	day 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Survival to hospital admission	Survival to hospital admission	day 1
Time to first rhythm analysis	Time from EMS arrival on-scene for non-EMS witnessed arrests and first rhythm analysis by the defibrillator	day 1
Time to initial shock	Time from EMS arrival on-scene for non-EMS witnessed arrests and initial shock by EMS	day 1
Total EMS shocks	Total shocks given by EMS	day 1
Time to ROSC	Time to ROSC from initial shock with competing risks (e.g. termination of resuscitation, pad change, double sequential external defibrillation use)	day 1
Survival to hospital discharge	Survival to hospital discharge	through study completion, an average of 7 days
Survival to hospital discharge with favorable outcome	Survival to hospital discharge with a Cerebral Performance Category score of 1-2	through study completion, an average of 7 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oregon Health and Science University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): April 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 4, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 9, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): September 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 14, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 9, 2026
• Last Verified: September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Heart Diseases; Heart Arrest
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00030326; 1033808 (Other Grant/Funding Number: American Heart Association)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: A de-identified dataset will be shared with all data elements required for analysis.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Within 12 months from study completion. No end date.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Stored in dataverse via request and data use agreement process
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No