[Critical patients carriers of pacemakers and automatic defibrillators].
Pacemakers and automatic defibrillators are being increasingly implanted and thus more patients with these devices are being admitted to our Services. We should recognize these patients and be capable of understanding the functioning of the apparatus implanted. Scheduled when the patient was in a stable situation, its scheduling may not be sufficient in a pathological situation with increase of metabolic demands. It may even contribute to worsening the clinical picture that our patient has. Sufficient knowledge should allow us to recognize this problem and even to propose changes in the programming as part of the patient's treatment. Correct clinical management of these patients requires greater involvement in the understanding of these devices in our daily tasks.
Porres Aracama
J M
JM
Unidad de Arritmias, Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Donostia, San Sebastián, España. jporres@euskalnet.net
D016638:Critical Illness; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D006801:Humans; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial