"Are the differences between 'high performance' pacing leads clinically significant? A comparison of sintered...

A retrospective assessment was performed of the acute implantation characteristics of two pacing leads, one with a sintered platinum (S 80-T) electrode and the other with an activated vitreous carbon (412-S) electrode in 124 patients. The S80-T lead had a significantly lower implantation threshold. The differences between the two leads in sensing properties, in current flow at threshold voltage and at the output of the generator were not significant at implantation. The 412-S lead had a higher impedance measurement than the S-80-T at implantation but this was mainly due to the resistance differences of the conductors rather than to electrode-patient interactions. A subgroup of 20 patients had chronic threshold measurements. The S 80-T lead had a significantly lower chronic voltage threshold. However because the acute and chronic differences are small we conclude that, although these differences are statistically significant, they are not clinically significant. Both can justifiably be termed 'high-performance' leads.