Infections in Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices: Diagnosis and Management in a Referral Center

Salvage of Infected Cardiac Implantable Electrical Devices with Subpectoral Plane Pocket Revision

Introduction Infection of cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIEDs) may lead to serious complications. Complete CIED explantation is expensive, requires expertise, not free from complications, and may not be an option in patients with device dependence.

Aim To highlight that carefully selected infected CIEDs can be salvaged by placing the device in a subpectoral pocket below the pectoralis major muscle. We conducted a retrospective descriptive observational study.

Material and Methods Twelve patients (10 male and two female) with erosion, exposure or infection of infraclavicular, subcutaneously placed CIED were treated over a 30-month period between July 2018 and December 2020. The technique involved debridement and excision of a peridevice capsule, creating a subpectoral pocket beneath the pectoralis major muscle, and placing the CIED in a new pocket with total muscle coverage and closure of skin without tension.

Results Twelve patients ( m = 10; f = 2) with a mean age of 65 years (range, 46–82 years) presented with infection of CIED within 9 months of implantation. None had sepsis or endocarditis. In nine patients, CIEDs were successfully salvaged with relocation to subpectoral pocket. Mean follow-up was 20 months (range, 8–30 months). Three out of 12 developed reinfection that ultimately required CIED explantation. There was no mortality.

Conclusion In the absence of sepsis or endocarditis, infected CIEDs may be attempted at salvage by subpectoral pocket placement. This obviates the need for potentially risky explantation or replacement of expensive CIEDs.

Clinical Profile and Outcome of Patients with Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device-Related Infection

Fundamento

Houve aumento expressivo na incidência de infecções relacionadas a dispositivos cardíacos eletrônicos implantáveis (DCEI) nos últimos anos, com impacto na mortalidade.

Objetivos

Verificar a proporção de pacientes com infecção de DCEI e analisar seu perfil clínico, as variáveis relacionadas com a infecção e sua evolução.

Método

Estudo retrospectivo, observacional e longitudinal com 123 pacientes com infecção de DCEI entre 6.406 procedimentos. Foram usados os testes paramétricos, e o nível de significância adotado na análise estatística foi de 5%.

Resultados

A idade média dos pacientes foi de 60,1 anos, e 71 eram homens. A média de internação foi de 35,3 dias, e houve remoção total do sistema em 105 pacientes. Identificaram-se endocardite infecciosa (EI) e sepse em 71 e 23 pacientes, respectivamente. A mortalidade intra-hospitalar foi 19,5%. Houve associação entre EI e extrusão do gerador (17,0% vs. 19,5% nos grupos com e sem EI, respectivamente, p = 0,04; associação inversa) e sepse (15,4% vs. 3,2%, p = 0,01). Houve associação entre morte intra-hospitalar e EI (83,3% vs. 52,0% com e sem morte, respectivamente, p = 0,005) e sepse (62,5% vs. 8,1%, p < 0,0001). Foi dada alta hospitalar a 99 pacientes. Durante a média de seguimento clínico de 43,8 meses, a taxa de mortalidade foi de 43%, e 65,2% dos pacientes com sepse faleceram (p < 0,0001). A curva de sobrevida de Kaplan-Meier não indicou associação significante com sexo, agente etiológico, fração de ejeção, EI e modalidade de tratamento. A taxa de mortalidade foi de 32,8% entre os pacientes submetidos a reimplante de eletrodos por via endocárdica e 52,2% entre aqueles por via epicárdica (p = 0,04). Não houve influência da etiologia chagásica, a qual correspondeu a 44,7% das cardiopatias de base, quanto às variáveis clínicas e laboratoriais ou à evolução.

Conclusões

A taxa de infecção foi de 1,9%, com predomínio em homens. Houve associação entre mortalidade intra-hospitalar e EI e sepse. Após a alta hospitalar, a taxa de mortalidade anual foi de 11,8%, com influência de sepse durante a internação e o implante epicárdico. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2021; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

Cardiac device-related infective endocarditis in the Czech Republic: prospective data from the ESC EORP EURO-ENDO registry

AIM

Understanding cardiac electronic device infective endocarditis epidemiology is essential for the management of this serious complication. Only monocentric and limited data have been published regarding patients in the Czech republic so far. The aim of this study was to describe the current profile, microbiology and clinical characteristics of this population.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

National data from the prospective ESC-EORP EURO-ENDO registry were collected. 57 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of cardiac device-related infective endocarditis (CDRIE) from 11 Czech centres were included.

RESULTS

Staphylococcus spp. was responsible for 43.9% of isolates, whereas Culture negative endocarditis was documented in 26.3% episodes. The most frequent complications under therapy were acute renal failure (17.5%), septic shock and heart failure (both 10.5%). Extraction of device was performed in 75.4% of all patients, and the 1-year mortality was 22.5%.

CONCLUSIONS

The high proportion of culture-negative endocarditis is alarming and warrants further investigation. Cardiac device related infective endocarditis is a serious complication with a high 1-year mortality in a highly polymorbid spectrum of patients.

Repeated procedures at the generator pocket are a determinant of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator infection

BACKGROUND

Rates of cardiac-device infections have increased in recent years, but the current incidence and risk factors for infection in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are not well known.

HYPOTHESIS

The increasing number of ICD infections is related to accumulated pocket manipulations over time.

METHODS

This single-center, prospective study included patients that underwent ICD implantation from 2008 to 2015. The endpoint was time to infection. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors related to infection.

RESULTS

The study included a total of 570 patients, of whom 419 (73.5%) underwent a first implantation. Mean age was 59 ± 14 years, and 80% were male. During a median follow-up of 36 months (interquartile range, 18-61 months; 1887 patient-years), infection was identified in 26 patients (4.56%), an incidence of 14.9 × 1000 patient-years. Median time to infection was 9.7 months (interquartile range, 1.35-23.4 months), and 38.5% were late infections (beyond 12 months of follow-up). In patients with replacement implants, the incidence was 3-fold higher than in first implantations (27.7 vs 9.1 × 1000 patient-years; P = 0.002). Cox regression identified 2 independent predictors of ICD infection: cumulative number of interventions at the generator pocket (hazard ratio: 1.92, 95% confidence interval: 1.42-2.6, P < 0.001) and pocket hematoma (hazard ratio: 7.0, 95% confidence interval: 2.7-17.9, P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of infection in ICD patients is greater than previously reported, largely due to late infections. Each new cumulative intervention at the same generator pocket nearly doubles the risk of infection.