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Incidence of Lead System Malfunction Detected During Implantable Defibrillator Generator Replacement
Author(s) -
GOYAL RAJIVA,
HARVEY MARK,
HORWOOD LAURA,
BOGUN FRANK,
CASTELLANI MARK,
CHAN K.K.,
DAOUD EMILE,
NIEBAUER MARK,
MAN K. CHING,
MORADY FRED,
STRICKBERGER S. ADAM
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1996.tb04183.x
Subject(s) - medicine , lead (geology) , incidence (geometry) , generator (circuit theory) , implantable cardioverter defibrillator , cardiology , medical emergency , physics , geomorphology , optics , geology , power (physics) , quantum mechanics
Implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) generator replacement due to a depleted battery is a frequently performed procedure. The frequency with which sensing and defibrillation system failures are identified during device replacement procedures has not been previously described. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to prospectively determine the frequency of lead system malfunction detected at the time of device replacement in 55 consecutive patients undergoing ICD generator replacement. The mean age of the patients was 63 ± 10 years and 40 of them were men. Forty‐nine patients had an epicardial lead system, and six patients had a nonthoracotomy lead system. Four (7%) of these 55 patients were noted to have previously undetected lead system failure, either sensing (n = 3) or defibrillation (n = 1), necessitating system revision. The lead systems that failed were 40 ± 6 months old (33–49 months). In summary, during ICD generator replacement, previously undetected problems with sensing or defibrillation may be identified in approximately 10% of patients. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of the sensing and the defibrillation functions should be an essential component of the ICD generator replacement procedure.