Effect of Early Diagnosis and Treatment with Percutaneous Lead Extraction on Survival in Patients with Cardiac Device Infections

Cardiac device infections (CDIs) represent a serious complication after the implantation of pacemakers and defibrillators. In addition to antimicrobials, complete hardware removal, mostly with percutaneous lead extraction (PLE), is necessary to limit recurrences. However, CDI diagnosis is often difficult and is sometimes delayed, and scarce data exist on how the timing of PLE may affect clinical outcomes. In this study, the in-hospital outcomes of 52 consecutive patients with CDIs who underwent PLE were retrospectively analyze. Co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, renal insufficiency, and end-stage renal disease were highly prevalent in the study cohort. Patients were divided into group A (bacteremia or device endocarditis) and group B (localized pocket infection). In-hospital mortality was 29% in group A and 5% in group B (p = 0.02) and was due mostly to sepsis. Hospital stays were shorter in group B patients (5.7 vs 21.7 days, p <0.001). Presentation with hypotension was more commonly observed in group A patients and was associated with higher in-hospital mortality, whereas pocket findings correlated with better survival. Postoperative courses after PLE were uneventful in most patients, and no fatal complications were observed. PLE was performed significantly earlier in group B patients (hospitalization day 1.3 vs 7.6, p <0.001). PLE performed within 3 hospitalization days was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (p = 0.01). In conclusion, PLE performed within 3 days from admission is associated with shorter hospitalization and better survival. A timely diagnosis is crucial, particularly in the absence of local findings, because early treatment with PLE is likely to prevent the catastrophic outcomes of unrelenting CDIs.