Septic complications in patients with permanent pacemakers

Abstract

Nine patients with implanted pacemakers had the diagnosis of septicaemia to endocarditis. The diagnosis was established on the basis of a repeatedly positive haemoculture. The interval since the first pacemaker implantation to the onset of sepsis to endocarditis was about 5 years. All nine patients had previous reoperation either of the pacemaker or its lead due to decubitus. While, in four patients, the route of infection was a pacemaker lead in its extravascular couse, in 5 patients the source of infection was a lead placed right in the venous system. All patients were treated with ATB according to the antibioticogram. 4 patients had the pacemaker lead extracted. In the remaining five, the pacemaker lead was removed by catheterization. All patients recovered. There is only one way of eliminating infection that caused the sepsis, that is, to remove the foreign body present in the patient - the pacemaker leas in this particular case.