Spanish Heart Rhythm Association member´s perspectives on implantable cardiac device reuse in developing countries.
a) Introduction and objectives Postmortem explanted cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) from developed countries could provide patients unable to afford new devices in developing countries a treatment they lack nowadays. This study describes the preferences of cardiac electrostimulation specialists from Spain on the management of explanted CIEDs and opinions and concerns regarding reuse in developing countries. b) Methods A nationwide self-administered questionnaire was sent to Spanish members of the XXXX1 (n=1110), between December 2020 and January 2021. c) Results Forty-three responses were obtained (response rate 4%). There was a strong preference to donate explanted devices for reuse in humans (61.9%). The group of age younger than average was more against storing explanted CIEDs (p= 0.014). 57.1% considered it would be beneficial for patients to have a document so they could reflect their wishes regarding device handling after their death. 88.1% indicated that they would strongly agree or to implant postmortem resterilized pacemakers or ICDs (Implantable cardioverter defibrillator) containing >70% of the original battery life in patients who were unable to obtain a new one, the older than average age group was showed more agreement with this statement (p=0.02). The most mentioned concerns were device malfunction (57.1%) and infection (54.8%). d) Conclusions The majority of respondents support reusable CIEDs donation to developing countries. It would be interesting to study the feasibility of a nationwide CIED reutilization programme.