title: [Complications of permanent pacemaker. Event operator dependent? Analysis of 743 consecutive patients].
abstract: The complications of permanent pacemaker implant, are found among 6%-9% of patients. Different factors are related.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the complications related with pacemaker implants and which are the independent risk factors associated with them.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive analysis, type case-controls, retrospective and prospective, including 743 consecutive patients, between January 2007 and April 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Age: 73.83 ± 12 years, 63.9% male. 43% of the patients had some degree of structural cardiopathy. There were no deaths related to pacemaker implants. Implant procedure-related complications were observed in 57 patients (7.67%), requiring a surgical intervention in 34 patients (4.57%). The most serious complications included one device-related infective endocarditis (0.13%), the entire device system was extracted, and one pneumothorax following subclavian vein puncture with insertion of a chest tube. In the multivariate analysis, low level of operator experience and preimplant heart failure were independent predictors for complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this consecutive series of patients with permanent pacemaker implant, there was a low rate of complications, similar to the reported international series. A low level of operator experience and preimplant heart failure were related.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Arritmias, Departamento de Cardiología, Hospital Español de Mendoza, Argentina.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Femenía
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arce
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peñafort
authors.forename: Martín
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arrieta
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors