Endocardial pacing in infants and children 15 kg or less in weight: medium-term follow-up.
Twenty-four children 15 kg or less in weight (range 2.8-15 kg) underwent implantation of a permanent pacemaker using the transvenous technique of lead placement. During a follow-up period of 2 months to 6 years 1 month (median 3 years 6 months) eight children suffered complications, six of which necessitated reoperation. These included: lead fracture in two, infection in two, transient myocardial dysfunction in one, generator migration in one, premature battery depletion in one, and threshold rise in one. A loop of redundant ventricular lead positioned in the atrium at the time of implant is successfully unravelling in all children. One child died during the follow-up period of a pneumonia unrelated to her pacemaker. The other children are growing and developing normally and the cosmetic appearance has proved acceptable in all cases.
Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Royal Brompton and National Heart Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
J A
JA
Till
S
S
Jones
E
E
Rowland
E A
EA
Shinebourne
D E
DE
Ward
D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004699:Endocardium; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006327:Heart Block / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies