ABSTRACT
A 75-year-old male was implanted with a Telectronics Meta DDDR model 1250 pacemaker 47 months ago. The patient was evaluated in-office for symptomatic complaints of dizziness, palpitations, and "too slow or too fast" pulse rates. Upon examination, the device displayed sudden no output manifestations for which the device had been recalled. However, the device further displayed erratic paced rates to 200 ppm, switching between VVIR and DDDR modes. To the best of our knowledge, this is a previously unreported manifestation in this recalled device and needs to be addressed due to its potentially hazardous patient effects.
Subject(s)
Pacemaker, Artificial , Aged , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/therapy , Electrocardiography , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure , Humans , Male , Pacemaker, Artificial/adverse effects , Product Surveillance, Postmarketing , TelemetryABSTRACT
A case of unintentional misprogramming is described in which a DDDR pacemaker, programmed to the VVIR mode, reverted to the originally programmed parameters and mode. The misprogramming requires that a particular sequence of steps be followed and has been verified by the manufacturer. This misprogramming may be clinically significant and can be reproduced in an entire family of current pacemakers based on the same software platform.
