Roughly four in five Americans with cardiac implantable electronic device infections don’t receive recommended treatment, according to a Philips-funded study out of Duke University.
The large-scale, real-world analysis of CMS data also found that complete hardware extraction within 6 days was associated with a 42.9% lower risk of death than among patients who did not undergo device removal. Groups including the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) have recommended extraction for all patients with a definite CIED infection, including complete device and lead removal.
“This study highlights the life-threatening nature of device infections and the significant opportunities to improve care in these complex patients,” Dr. Jonathan Piccini, the lead investigator of the study and the director of Cardiac Electrophysiology section at the Duke Heart Center, said in a news release. “The findings also emphasize the importance of timely diagnosis and complete treatm…