title: Automatic home monitoring of implantable cardioverter defibrillators.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With the expanding indications for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and reports of unexpected ICD failures, home monitoring (HM) was proposed to decrease follow-up workload and increase patient safety. Home monitoring implantable cardioverter defibrillators offer wireless, everyday transfer of ICD status and therapy data to a central HM Service Center, which notifies the attending physician of relevant HM events. We evaluated functionality and safety of HM ICDs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 260 patients with HM ICDs were monitored for a mean of 10 +/- 5 months. Time to HM events [medical (ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation) and technical (ICD system integrity)] since ICD implantation and since the latest in-clinic follow-up was analysed. Mean number of HM events per 100 patients per day was calculated, without and with a 2-day blanking period for re-notifying the same type of event. About 41.2% of the patients had HM events (38.1% medical, 0.8% technical, and 2.3% both types). Probability of any HM event after 1.5 years was 0.50 (95% confidence interval: 0.42-0.58). More than 60% of new HM event types occurred within the first month after follow-up. A mean of 0.86 event notifications was received per 100 patients per day or 0.45 with the 2-day blanking period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Home monitoring is feasible and associated with an early detection of medical and technical events.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Heart Center, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. cosedis@dadlnet.dk
authors.forename: Jens Cosedis
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kottkamp
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zabel
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aliot
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kreutzer
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schuchert
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Neuser
authors.forename: Burghard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schumacher
authors.forename: Herwig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schmidinger
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stix
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clémenty
authors.forename: Dejan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Danilovic
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hindricks
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D013686:Telemetry / Q000379:methods*; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*