Idiopathic Lead Migration: Concept and Variants of an Uncommon Cause of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Dysfunction

This cumulative case study was performed to properly address the possible mechanisms, forms, and consequences of "twiddler's," "reel," and "ratchet" syndromes.

Twiddler's, reel, and ratchet syndromes are rare entities responsible for lead displacement of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED).

From 2007 to 2012, 1,472 CIED were implanted at our center. Eighty-nine cases were reviewed for failure of pacing circuit integrity. Only 9 met the inclusion criteria for idiopathic lead migration (ILM) and were grouped as ILM (twiddler) or ILM (reel). For a pooled analysis of cases, a review of the literature from 1990 to 2012 was performed, and the authors identified 78 cases from 64 publications.

The study population consisted of 87 cases (45 women; median age, 66 years; 46 with ILM [twiddler] and 41 with ILM [reel]). Migration affected only 1 lead in 65% of 46 devices with more than 1 lead. None of the previously reported risk factors-manual manipulation of the device, elderly age, obesity, oversized pocket, and psychiatric history-correlated with the risk of ILM.

Neither manual manipulation of the device nor the other traditional risk factors reported in the literature for ILM syndrome correlated with the risk of ILM.