Complications of defibrillation testing. A review of the literature

Bishoy Deif; Jeff S Healey

doi:10.1007/s00399-015-0404-4

Complications of defibrillation testing. A review of the literature

Herzschrittmacherther Elektrophysiol. 2015 Dec;26(4):320-3. doi: 10.1007/s00399-015-0404-4. Epub 2015 Nov 30.

Authors

Bishoy Deif^{1

2}, Jeff S Healey^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
² Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
³ Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Jeff.Healey@phri.ca.
⁴ Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Jeff.Healey@phri.ca.

PMID: 26621797
DOI: 10.1007/s00399-015-0404-4

Abstract

Defibrillation testing (DT) has traditionally been performed at the time of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) insertion. However, there has been a trend away from conducting DT, in part due to observational studies showing uncommon but serious complications related to DT. More recently, several randomized trials have shown no improvement in the efficacy of clinical shocks among patients assigned to have DT. These trials also suggest a modest increase in perioperative complications related to DT; however, the overall rate of complications was very low. This review focuses on the prevalence of complications associated with DT and elaborates on a number of indications for DT.

Keywords: Defibrillation testing; Implantable defibrillation; Perioperative complications.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Death, Sudden, Cardiac / epidemiology*
Death, Sudden, Cardiac / prevention & control*
Defibrillators, Implantable / statistics & numerical data*
Electric Injuries / mortality*
Equipment Failure Analysis / statistics & numerical data*
Evidence-Based Medicine
Heart Injuries / mortality*
Humans
Incidence
Risk Factors
Survival Rate
Treatment Outcome