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Europace Advance Access published online on November 12, 2009
Europace, doi:10.1093/europace/eup361
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Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2009. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Short-term implantation-related complications of cardiac rhythm management device therapy: a retrospective single-centre 1-year survey

Sami Pakarinen*, Lasse Oikarinen and Lauri Toivonen

Department of Cardiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Meilahti Hospital, Haartmaninkatu 4, PO Box 340, 00029 HUS Helsinki, Finland

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the current short-term (<3 months) complication rate related to cardiac rhythm management (CRM) device implantations.

Methods and results: We analysed data of the complications related to all CRM device implantations during 1 year (2006) in a tertiary referral university hospital. In 567 device implantations, pacing system upgrade procedures, or lead revisions, 78 complications occurred in 69 (12.2%) patients. Lead dislodgement, pocket haematoma or bleeding, pneumothorax, and infection were the most common accounting for >80% of all complications. The complication rate was more than twice as high in bradycardia pacemaker (PM) implantations performed by cardiology trainees (17.4%) than by experienced cardiologists (7.7%, P = 0.001). When performed by experienced cardiologists, the complication rate was not higher in implantations of more complex devices compared with that of bradycardia PMs. Fifty-two of the 69 patients needed additional surgical procedures. Altogether, the complications required 504 additional treatment days in hospital.

Conclusion: In conclusion, our retrospective 1-year single-centre survey shows that short-term implantation-related complications of contemporary device therapy are still frequent, occur much more frequently by trainees than by cardiologists, require a large number of additional surgical procedures, and substantially prolong the hospital stay.

Key Words: Pacemaker, Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, Cardiac resynchronization therapy, Complications

* Corresponding author. Tel: +358 9 47172442, Fax: +358 9 47174574, Email: sami.pakarinen{at}hus.fi

Manuscript submitted 3 July 2009. Accepted after revision 20 October 2009.


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