A survival analysis of bipolar steroid-eluting and unipolar
non-steroid-eluting epicardial leads
Abstract
Background: Epicardial pacemakers are known as an alternative
for endocardial pacemakers in some cases such as heart block, and
complex congenital heart diseases. Considering recent advances and
improvement of epicardial lead subtypes, it is essential to investigate
the long-term function of them. In this study, we aimed to assess the
sensing and pacing characteristics, and survival of bipolar
steroid-eluting and unipolar non-steroid-eluting epicardial pacemakers.
Methods: We conducted an entirely concentrated search on the
documents of all patients who had undergone epicardial lead implantation
in the Shaheed Rajaie Cardiovascular, Medical & Research Center during
2015-2018. Implant, and follow up data were extracted. Kaplan Meier
analysis and Weibull regression hazards model were applied for the
survival analysis. Results: eighty-nine leads were implanted
for 77 patients. Of the total leads, 52.81%, 53.93%, and 47.19% were
implanted in children (under-18-year-old), females, and patients with
congenital heart diseases, respectively. Bipolar steroid-eluting leads
comprised 33.71% of 89 leads. Pacing threshold of unipolar
non-steroid-eluting leads that were implanted on the left ventricle and
right atrium increased significantly during the follow up to greater
records than bipolar steroid-eluting leads. Survival analysis also
revealed that bipolar steroid-eluting leads are significantly better in
48-month survival (Weibull HR: 0.13 (95%CI, 0.02-0.99), p-value,
0.049). Age, ventricular location of the lead, and acute pacing
characteristics were not associated with survival. Conclusions:
Bipolar steroid-eluting epicardial leads have an acceptable survival
compared with unipolar non-steroid-eluting, without a significant
difference regarding patients age. Therefore, they could be an excellent
alternative for endocardial ones.