EP News: Allied Professionals

Access to pacemakers (PMs) and implantable defibrillators (ICDs), collectively known as cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs, in countries with limited resources can be problematic. One solution is the reuse of devices obtained post mortem after insuring good working condition/adequate remaining battery longevity along with rigorous resterilization to prevent infection. The authors (Khairy et al. N Engl J Med 2020;382:1823-31, PMID: 32374963) described their experience donating reused CIEDs by means of a registry developed in 2003 which tracks patients undergoing implantation of reused devices that were sent from Quebec, Canada to underserved countries (study group) and matched these patients in a 3:1 fashion to patients undergoing implant of a new CIED in Canada (control group).
Source: Heart Rhythm - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: research