title: Pocket Hematoma: A Call for Definition.
abstract: Pocket hematoma is a common complication of cardiac implantable electronic device procedures and a potential risk factor for device infections, especially in patients on oral anticoagulation or antiplatelet treatment. There is a wide variability in the incidence of pocket hematoma and bleeding complications in the literature and the major cause for this seems to be the variability of the used definitions for hematomas. The lack of generally accepted definition for pocket hematoma renders the comparisons across the studies difficult. In this article, we briefly review the current literature on this issue and propose a uniform definition for pocket hematoma and criteria for grading the severity of hematoma in clinical practice and research.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, Misericordia Hospital, Grosseto, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: DE Sensi
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, Misericordia Hospital, Grosseto, Italy.
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Miracapillo
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, Misericordia Hospital, Grosseto, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cresti
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, Misericordia Hospital, Grosseto, Italy.
authors.forename: Silva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Severi
authors.affiliation: Heart Center, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Kari Eino Juhani
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Airaksinen
mesh_terms: D006406:Hematoma / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009626:Terminology as Topic
keywords: antiplatelet therapy; bleeding; heparin bridging; oral anticoagulation; pacemaker infection; pocket hematoma