Related Experiment Videos
DDD pacing mode survival in children with a dual-chamber pacemaker
E Valsangiacomo1, L Molinari, M Rahn-Schönbeck
1University Children's Hospital, and Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Background:
The persistence of DDD pacing is well documented in adults, however, in children survival of the DDD pacing mode is less clear.
Methods:
We studied the survival of dual-chamber (DDD) pacing in 36 children aged 1 week to 16 years who underwent implantation of a dual-chamber pacing system between January 1986 and October 1998. The children were divided in the following two groups: 26 had epicardial pacing systems and 10 had endocardial pacing systems.
Results:
During long-term follow-up 11 patients lost the DDD pacing mode. The DDD pacing survival rate at 3 months and 1, 2, and 5 years was 80%, 77%, 73%, and 69%, respectively. Age, weight, congenital heart disease, and epicardial pacing leads were not found to be risk factors for loss of DDD pacing mode. However, P-wave values of less than 2.5 mV at implantation of epicardial leads were associated with loss of the DDD pacing mode.
Conclusions:
The majority of children remain in the DDD pacing mode during long-term follow-up. A P-wave value of less than 2.5 mV at implantation of epicardial leads is a risk factor for loss of the DDD pacing mode.