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Assessing the safety of implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator reuse—A retrospective case‐control study
Author(s) -
Enache Bogdan,
Șoșdean Raluca,
Macarie Răzvan,
Dodinot Bernard,
Pescariu Sorin
Publication year - 2019
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/pace.13742
Subject(s) - medicine , implantable cardioverter defibrillator , odds ratio , confidence interval , reuse , emergency medicine , medical emergency , intensive care medicine , ecology , biology
Aims The safety of pacemaker reuse has been proven by numerous studies in the last two decades. With the exception of one research paper, the safety of reuse of implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators has not been properly investigated. Our aim was to establish whether resterilized implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators are as safe as new devices in relation to functionality and infection rates. Methods All the patients ( n = 271) implanted with a new or a donated, used implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) at the Institute of Cardiovascular Disease Timisoara Romania between January 2001 and December 2012 were included in the study. The patients had class I indication for ICD implantation. One hundred fifty‐seven patients received reused ICDs and 114 patients received new ICDs. Complications were defined as infections that required reintervention, device malfunction, and replacements due to untimely or unexpected battery depletion. Results Complications occurred in 4.38% of the patients in the new ICD group and in 1.91% of the reused ICD group. The difference was not considered statistically significant (odds ratio 0.28, 95% confidence interval 0.04‐1.82, P = .18). Conclusion According to our data, properly verified and resterilized ICDs are as safe as new devices, when risk of infection or malfunction rates are assessed. Due to the high costs of new ICDs, their safe reuse has profound humanitarian and financial implications.