Introduction:
Significant atrioventricular blocks and bradyarrhythmias are known complications of open-heart surgery. These are frequently transient, however, some patients go on to need a permanent pacemaker (PP). We sought to describe the incidence, predictors, and outcomes of PP implantation among patients admitted for cardiac surgery who develop bradyarrhythmias.
Methods:
We queried the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2010 to 2014 for adults admitted for surgical valve replacement, valvuloplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) who had bradyarrhythmias during the admission using the appropriate ICD codes. We identified patients who had permanent pacemaker implantation documented during the admission. Categorical and continuous variables were compared using the chi-square and student's t-test. Predictors of PP implantation and in-hospital mortality were evaluated by logistic regression.
Results:
Of the 1402930 patients who underwent cardiac surgery, 94748 patients had bradyarrhythmias defined as sinoatrial node dysfunction (SND) and/or atrioventricular block (AVB) during hospitalization. The primary procedure was identified as valve replacement in 50.3% (47615 of 94748), CABG in 29.9% (27622 of 94748) and valvuloplasty in 8.7% (8248 of 94748). SND was found in 29.9% (28372 of 94748) and AVB in 76% (72017 of 94748). Permanent pacemaker implantation was done in 39.3% (37246 of 94748). Valve replacement was the most common surgery associated with PP implantation [58% (21682 of 37246) compared to 21.5% in CABG (8007 of 37246) and 7.7% in valvuloplasty (2882 of 37246), p < 0.001). Female sex aOR 1.36 (95% CI 1.31 - 1.40), young age 18 - 44 years aOR 1.36 (95% CI 1.24 - 1.49), Asiatic and Hispanic origin aOR 1.36 (95% CI 1.23 - 1.51), aOR 1.25 (95% CI 1.17 - 1.34) respectively, diabetes mellitus with chronic complications aOR 1.16 (95% CI 1.09 - 1.24), drug abuse aOR 1.38 (95% CI 1.21 - 1.55) were associated with higher odds of pacemaker implantation. African American origin aOR 0.79 (95CI 0.74 - 0.85), AIDS aOR 0.33 (95% CI 0.17 - 0.67), south hospital region aOR 0.89 (95% CI 0.85 - 0.93), no-charge admissions aOR 0.66 (95% CI 0.49 - 0.89) were associated with a lower odds of PPM implantation. Death during hospitalization was found in 3% of the patients. After multivariable regression, PP implantation was associated with a lower likelihood of in-hospital death aOR 0.45 (95% CI 0.41 - 0.50).
Conclusion:
Approximately one-third of the patients hospitalized for cardiac surgery related to AVB and/or SND were implanted a permanent pacemaker. Factors like age, sex, race and comorbidities determine the likelihood of this procedure that has a significant impact on mortality. Having a better insight into these predictors would allow a better triage of patients who would benefit from its implantation.
Analysis of the causes and frequency of permanent pacemaker implantation after different variants of surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation with combined cardiac surgery
