A Novel Approach to Identifying Appropriate Candidates for Transvenous Lead Extraction

The need for transvenous lead extractions (TLEs) in the setting of cardiac implantable electronic device-(CIED) related infections continues to rise. Delays in referral for TLE in this setting are common and are associated with increased mortality.

To describe the outcomes of a comprehensive approach, including an electronic medical record (EMR)-based notification algorithm designed to identify patients with active CIED-related infections to facilitate timely TLE.

Following an interdepartmental education initiative at a high-volume extraction center, an EMR based notification algorithm generated alerts for all inpatients with a CIED who received intravenous antibiotics or had positive blood cultures between September 2022 and February 2024. Patients deemed to be high risk underwent an electrophysiology consultation and were managed at the discretion of the treating electrophysiologist. Demographics, procedural details, and clinical outcomes were analyzed.

1829 notifications were screened over the study period. Thirty-nine consults were generated (2%). Of these patients, 18 TLEs were performed (46%). Patients who underwent TLE had MSSA (56%), MRSA (22%), enterococcus (11%), Serratia (5.6%), or S. gallolyticus (5.6%) bacteremia. The median time from the review to consultation was 1 day (IQR: 0, 1 days) and review to TLE was 2 days (IQR: 1, 2.75 days). Survival in the extraction group was 67% after a median follow-up period of 133 days (IQR: 59, 223 days).

A comprehensive approach, including an EMR-based notification algorithm allowed for the early identification of patients who were appropriate candidates for TLE due to CIED-related infections. Use of this algorithm facilitated timely TLEs.