Influencing factors and effectiveness of community follow-up in patients with cardiac implantable electronic device / 中华全科医师杂志

Objective:To explore the influencing factors and effectiveness of community follow-up in patients with cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation.Method:A total of 132 patients who received CIED implantation in the Department of Cardiology of Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from February 2021 to February 2022 were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. Among them 33 patients were followed up in community health service centers associated with Tongren Hospital (community follow-up group) and 99 matched patients were followed up in the CIED outpatient clinic of the hospital (outpatient follow-up group) with a ratio of 1∶3. The clinical data of the selected patients were collected through a questionnaire survey; the follow-up data were extracted through the CarelinkExpress electronic follow-up platform and the CIED outpatient information system of Tongren Hospital. Adjustment of the treatment protocol or CIED parameters at follow-up, and the referral from the community health service centers were defined as visit with-an-action (VWA). The endpoint of follow-up was the occurrence of major adverse events. The multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors influencing patient selection for community follow-up.Results:The univariate analysis showed that the frequency of visits to community health service centers and the service contracting rate in community follow-up group were higher than those of outpatient follow-up group ( P<0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the contracted community physician service was an independent influencing factor of patient choosing community follow-up ( OR=2.143, 95% CI: 1.103-4.166, P=0.025). A total of 469 visits of followed up occurred in 132 patients, including 45 community visits and 424 outpatient visits. VWA accounted for 22.2% (10/45) in the community follow-up group, and 17.2% (73/424) in the outpatient follow-up group ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the safety and effectiveness indicators (VWA, major adverse events, and unplanned follow-up) between the two groups ( P>0.05). More patients in the community follow-up group walked to the hospital than the outpatient follow-up group ( P<0.05);and the main transportation for the later was by bus or taxi(42(42.4%)or 41(41.4%)). The average waiting time in the community follow-up group was significantly shorter than that in outpatient follow-up group ( P<0.05). The total time required for a single follow-up in the community follow-up group was 50.0 (45.0, 59.5) minutes, which was significantly shorter than that in the routine outpatient follow-up group (107.0 (90.0, 135.0) minutes, P<0.05). Conclusions:The contracting with community physicians is an independent influencing factor for CIED implanted patients to choose community follow-up. The safety and effectiveness of community follow-up are comparable to routine outpatient follow-up, and community follow-up is more convenient.

Application of remote monitoring systems for cardiac implantable electronic devices in elderly patients / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective To investigate the application of remote monitoring systems for cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) and its success rate of data transmission in elderly patients.Methods A total of 97 elderly patients who had previously undergone procedures for pacemaker implantation,implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) with remote monitoring capabilities between January 2013 and October 2016 at our hospital were enrolled.We evaluated the effect of the remote monitoring systems for data transmission,compared the outpatient follow-up rates between the groups one year after implantation,and conducted a telephone survey of patients.Results A total of 97 elderly patients,including 70 with pacemakers,20 with ICD and 7 with CRT,were enrolled in this study.Participants had a mean age of (78.2-±-6.4) years and 64 were male (66.0％).The Home Monitoring system was used for 85 cases and the Merlin.net remote monitoring system was used for 12 cases.Overall,95 patients (97.9 ％) completed the remote monitoring procedure,68 patients (70.1％) completed the outpatient follow-up,and 90 patients (92.8％) completed the telephone survey during a one-year follow-up period.The satisfaction rate for the remote monitoring systems was 94.4％ (85 patients),and 80 patients (90.0％％) expressed a willingness to continue to use the remote monitoring system if a replacement was needed.Conclusions For elderly patients with CIED,the remote monitoring systems can improve the follow-up rate with a high degree of satisfaction.

Double valve replacement in a patient with implantable cardioverter defibrillator with severe left ventricular dysfunction.

Recent data from landmark trials suggest that the indications for cardiac pacing and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are set to expand to include heart failure, sleep‑disordered breathing, and possibly routine implantation in patients with myocardial infarction and poor ventricular function.[1] This will inevitably result in more patients with cardiac devices undergoing surgeries. Perioperative electromagnetic interference and their potential effects on ICDs pose considerable challenges to the anesthesiologists.[2] We present a case of a patient with automatic ICD with severe left ventricular dysfunction posted for double valve replacement.

Influence of high frequency electrosurgical equipment application in cardiac impalntable elect ornic device implantation pro cedure on the rate of pocket hematoma / 中国介入心脏病学杂志

Objective To investigate the influence of high frequency electrosurgical equipment ( HFEE) application in cardiac implantable electronic device ( CIED) implantation procedure on the rate of pocket hematoma .Methods Patients who received CIED implantation in General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region were analyzed retrospectively .HFEE was applied during CIED implantation procedure in every patient who was classified into HFEE group .Other patients without HFEE application were classified as the control group . Patients with or without bleeding tendency were sub-classified into the bleeding tendency subgroup or non-bleeding tendency subgroup respectively .Bleeding tendency subgroup was further divided into heparin bridging group and direct implantation group .The occurance rate of CIED pocket hematoma was recorded in all groups .Results A total of 3884 patients were enrolled .There were 3115 patients in the HFEE group and 769 patients in the control group .The baseline data of two groups was similar.The overall rate of CIED pocket hematoma in the total patient population during perioperative period were 2.2%(86/3884), and the rate of long term pocket infection or rupture in patients with CIED pocket hematoma was 10.5%(9/8).In the HFEE group, the rate of pocket hematoma was lower than that in the control group (1.5%vs.5.2%, P<0.001).The rates of CIED pocket hematoma in respective subgroups in the HFEE group including the bleeding tendency subgroup ( 1.8% vs.11.5%, P=0.004 ) , the non-bleeding tendency subgroup ( 1.4% vs.4.7%, P<0.001 ) and the heparin bridging group ( 2.0% vs. 11.5%, P=0.046 ) were markedly decreased as compared with the corresponding subgroups in the control group.In the control group , the rate of CIED pocket hematoma in the bleeding tendency subgroup was higher than that in the non-bleeding tendency subgroup (11.5%vs.4.7%, P=0.0046).In HFEE group, there was no significant difference in the rate of CIED pocket hematoma between bleeding tendency subgroup and non-bleeding tendency subgroup; and there was also no significant difference in the rate of CIED pocket hematoma between the heparin bridging group and the direct implantation group .Conclusion Application of HFEE in CIED implantation procedure could reduce the incidence of pocket hematoma , and there was no significant difference in the incidence of pocket hematoma in patients with or without oral anticoagulation or antiplatelet agents.

Superior Vena Cava Echocardiography as a Screening Tool to Predict Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Lead Fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Currently there is no noninvasive imaging modality used to risk stratify patients requiring lead extractions. We report the novel use of superior vena cava (SVC) echocardiography to identify lead fibrosis and complex cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) lead extraction. With an aging population and expanding indications for cardiac device implantation, the ability to deal with the complications associated with chronically implanted device has also increased. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of Doppler echocardiography recorded in our outpatient Electrophysiology/Device Clinic office over 6 months. Images from 109 consecutive patients were reviewed. RESULTS: 62% (68/109) did not have a CIED and 38% (41/109) had a CIED. In patients without a CIED, 6% (4/68) displayed turbulent color flow by Doppler in the SVC, while 22% (9/41) of patients with a CIED displayed turbulent flow. Fisher's exact test found a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p value or = 2 years). Of the CIED implanted for > or = 2 years, 27% (9/33) had turbulent flow in the SVC by Doppler, while no patients (0/8) with implant durations < 2 years demonstrated turbulent flow. Nine patients underwent subsequent lead extraction. A turbulent color pattern successfully identified all 3 patients that had significant fibrosis in the SVC found during extraction. CONCLUSION: Our data suggests that assessing turbulent flow using color Doppler in the SVC may be a valuable noninvasive screening tool prior to lead extraction in predicting complex procedures.

A practical approach to perioperative management of cardiac implantable electronic devices

With the increased use of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), it is increasingly important to recognise the unique challenges involved in the management of patients with CIEDs who are undergoing surgery. Practice advisories and consensus statements have been issued by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Heart Rhythm Society, advocating a multidisciplinary approach. This review discusses and presents a practical approach to perioperative CIED management in the Singapore context.