Anticoagulation for Patients Undergoing Implantation of a Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device

The number of cardiac devices implanted increases year on year, as does the complexity of the patients being managed. A large proportion of this patient group have an indication for anticoagulation, and this raises challenges around the perioperative management of these agents.

A quality improvement project was conducted to review current practice, understand local experience and improve patient care.

Following the initial review, local guidelines were updated, the postoperative anticoagulation decision escalated to the responsible clinician and a clearer pathway for communicating the decision created.

The implemented changes have shown an overall improvement in junior doctor feedback and also clinical documentation in the electronic patient records.