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Complications of retained pacemaker hardware in heart transplant recipients: case series and review of the literature

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Abstract

Heart transplantation (HT) in patients with prior cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) is becoming more common, in parallel with the increased use of CIEDs for patients with advanced heart failure. Complete removal of CIED components during HT is not always feasible, and it is thus surprising that the literature addressing the implications of retained CIED components is limited. Indeed, there are neither guidelines nor consensus regarding the need for removal of these CIED fragments. This issue is nonetheless becoming important in light of the increase in the percentage of HT candidates having CIEDs, on the one hand, and newer therapeutic immunosuppressive protocols with higher bacterial infection potential, on the other. Thus, with the aim to study the implications of retained CIED fragments as a step towards establishing a therapeutic approach for the unique population of HT recipients with CIED remnants, we present here a case series of HT patients with retained CIED fragments who developed complications of infections together with a review of the available literature.

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Funding

This work did not require any external funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leviev Cardiothoracic and Vascular Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Alexander Fardman, Eilon Ram, Jacob Lavee, Roy Beinart, Eyal Nof & Yael Peled

  2. Infectious Disease Unit, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Anat Wieder

  3. Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Alexander Fardman, Eilon Ram, Jacob Lavee, Anat Wieder, Roy Beinart, Eyal Nof & Yael Peled

Authors
  1. Alexander Fardman
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  2. Eilon Ram
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  3. Jacob Lavee
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  4. Anat Wieder
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  5. Roy Beinart
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  6. Eyal Nof
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  7. Yael Peled
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Correspondence to Alexander Fardman.

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Fardman, A., Ram, E., Lavee, J. et al. Complications of retained pacemaker hardware in heart transplant recipients: case series and review of the literature. Infection 48, 635–640 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-020-01410-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-020-01410-x

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