title: Performance of a remote interrogation system for the in-hospital evaluation of cardiac implantable electronic devices.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) often need device interrogation in an in-hospital environment. A diagnosis-only, remote interrogation device and process for CIED interrogation was developed to address this situation. Here, we describe our initial clinical experience with this system.
  
  
  METHODS
  The LATITUDE Consult Communicator is a stand-alone interrogation-only device used to read the patient's implanted CIED. Once retrieved, the data are securely transmitted via an analog phone line to a central server. The clinician can request a review of the transmitted data at any time. Following FDA approval, we determined the usage and performance of the system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Communicators (n = 53) were installed in 42 hospital facilities. The most common location was in the emergency department (n = 32, 60 %). There were 509 discreet transmissions, which were categorized as follows: no arrhythmia episodes in the past 72 h and no out of range measurements (n = 174, 34 %); arrhythmia episodes in past 72 h but no out of range measurements (n = 170, 33 %); and further review recommended (n = 130, 26 %). (In 35 [7 %] instances, interrogation without analysis was requested.) The further review interrogations were then sub-divided into those of a non-urgent and urgent nature. Overall, only 53 (10 %) of the 509 transmissions were classified as urgent. Clinicians had access to full technical consultation in ≤15 min in 89 % of instances.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data demonstrate the feasibility of a new diagnosis-only, remote interrogation device and remote evaluation process for the interrogation of CIEDs in an in-hospital environment.
authors.affiliation: The Arrhythmia Institute at the Valley Hospital, 223 North Van Dien Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ, 07450, USA. mittsu@valleyhealth.com.
authors.forename: Suneet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.affiliation: Boston Scientific, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Younge
authors.affiliation: Boston Scientific, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: King-Ellison
authors.affiliation: Boston Scientific, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hammill
authors.affiliation: Boston Scientific, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004865:Equipment and Supplies, Hospital; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation*
keywords: Cardiac implantable electronic device; Interrogation; Performance; Remote evaluation