Pneumothorax in cardiac pacing: a population-based cohort study of 28,860 Danish patients.

Aim: To identify risk factors for pneumothorax treated with a chest tube after cardiac pacing device implantation in a population-based cohort.

Methods And Results: A nationwide cohort study was performed based on data on 28 860 patients from the Danish Pacemaker Register, which included all Danish patients who received their first pacemaker (PM) or cardiac resynchronization device from 1997 to 2008. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals for the association between risk factors and pneumothorax treated with a chest tube.

Risk factors for lead complications in cardiac pacing: a population-based cohort study of 28,860 Danish patients.

Background: Lead complications are the main reason for reoperation after implantation of pacemakers (PM) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-P) devices.

Objective: This study sought to describe the incidence of lead complications causing reoperation after device implantation and to identify risk factors for lead complications.

Methods: A nationwide, population-based, historic cohort study was performed based on data from the Danish Pacemaker Register, which includes all Danish patients who received their first PM or CRT-P device from 1997 to 2008.

Infection after pacemaker implantation: infection rates and risk factors associated with infection in a population-based cohort study of 46299 consecutive patients.

Aims: Infection is a serious complication of pacemaker (PM) systems. Although the rate of infection has been debated, the figures are largely unknown. We therefore studied the incidence of PM infection and its associated risk factors in the Danish population.

Twins with implanted pacemakers: Is there an increased mortality risk for the co-twin? A follow-up study based on the Danish Twin Registry and the Danish Pacemaker Register.

Background: The main indications for implanting a cardiac pacemaker are either acquired atrio-ventricular block (AVB) or sick sinus syndrome (SSS). In general, the exact aetiology of these conditions is unknown. Genetic factors may play a role.

Cancer risk among pacemaker recipients in Denmark, 1982-1996.

To address concerns about the potential carcinogenicity of pacemakers, we launched the first epidemiologic study of cancer incidence among pacemaker recipients. A nationwide cohort of 16,357 pacemaker recipients in Denmark from 1982 through 1996 was identified. The Danish Cancer Registry was used to identify all incident cancers within the cohort, with almost 75,000 person-years of observation.

Risk of severe cardiac arrhythmia in male utility workers: a nationwide danish cohort study.

To address concern about the potential cardiovascular effects of occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields in the 50- to 60-Hz frequency band, the authors launched an epidemiologic study of the incidence of severe cardiac arrhythmia, as indicated by the need for a pacemaker, in a nationwide cohort of Danish utility workers. The cohort of 24,056 men employed at utility companies between 1900 and 1993 was linked to the nationwide, population-based Danish Pacemaker Register, and the numbers of persons who had undergone pacemaker implantation between 1982 and 2000 were compared with corresponding numbers in the general population. In addition, the data on the utility workers were fitted to a multiplicative Poisson regression model in relation to estimated levels of exposure to 50-Hz electromagnetic fields.

Quality assessment of pacemaker implantations in Denmark.

Aims: Quality assessment of therapeutic procedures is essential to insure a cost-effective health care system. Pacemaker implantation is a common procedure with more than 500,000 implantations world-wide per year, but the general complication rate is not well described. We studied procedure related complications for all implantations performed in an entire nation over a 3-year period.

Updated appraisal of pacing lead performance from the Danish Pacemaker Register: the reliability of bipolar pacing leads has improved.

The Danish Pacemaker Register was established in January 1982, and the 12 implanting centers in Denmark report to the Register on a continuous basis by use of the European Pacemaker Patient Identification Card. As of August 1999, the Register contained data on 33,164 bradycardia, endocardial, and epicardial (n = 159) lead implants performed in Denmark on 27,738 generators in 24,180 patients for a total of 17,988 (54.2%) ventricular unipolar, 5,610 (16.

Appraisal of pacing lead performance from the Danish Pacemaker Register.

The Danish Pacemaker Register was established in January 1982, and the 11 implanting centers in Denmark report to the Register on a continuous basis by use of the European Pacemaker Patient Identification Card proposed by the European Working Group on Cardiac Pacing. As of May 1994, the Register contained data on 18,053 lead implants performed in Denmark, i.e.

[The Danish Pacemaker Registry. A database for quality assurance].

The Danish Pacemaker Register was established in 1982 and since then all Danish pacemaker and lead implantations have been registered on a prospective basis by use of the European Pacemaker Patient Identification Card. The Register contains data on 17,002 patients with an implanted pacemaker. In 1994 the implantation rate was 314 per million inhabitants.

The epidemiology of pacemaker implantations in Fyn county, Denmark.

Throughout the last three decades the number of patients with pacemakers has increased. Registers of pacemakers and pacemaker patients have been established to monitor, for example, the battery life expectancy and patient data. We have analyzed the registry for Fyn county, Denmark, which includes data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates among patients with pacemakers during the period from 1964 to 1990.

[Does alternative medical equipment result in pacemaker dysfunction?].

Employment of alternative therapeutic measures is increasing in Denmark. Some of this equipment employs magnetic fields in the therapeutic strategy. This may involve interference with the function of electronic equipment.

[Placing of implantable devices for electric stimulation].

Various electrical devices are implanted for cardiac-, diaphragma-, pain- and musclestimulation. The stimulator/pacemaker can be implanted in locations, different from that of ordinary cardiac pacemakers. All electric stimulation equipment containing batteries must be removed before cremation on account of the risk of explosion.

Management of spinal cord stimulators in patients with cardiac pacemakers.

We report a case of spinal cord stimulation (neurostimulation) as treatment for angina pectoris pain in a patient with a demand pacemaker. The precautions to avoid inhibition of the demand pacemaker by the neurostimulator are discussed.

Pregnancy and cesarean section in a patient with a rate-responsive pacemaker.

The function of a rate-responsive pacemaker was monitored during pregnancy and cesarean section in a woman with complete atrioventricular block. The observations during pregnancy were compared to similar observations obtained in a pregnant normal woman of comparable age, height and weight, and in 12 normal women during elective cesarean section. During pregnancy, the heart rate increased in the normal woman, whereas the pacing rate in the woman with the implanted pacemaker was unchanged.

Superiority of multiprogrammable to nonprogrammable VVI pacing: a comparative study with special reference to management of pacing system malfunctions.

Analysis of pacing system malfunctions was performed in 374 patients at initial implantation or at pulse generator and lead replacement during a period of 55 months. A total of 150 nonprogrammable pacemakers were implanted in 148 patients, while 236 multiprogrammable pacemakers were implanted in 226 patients. The purpose of the analysis was to investigate the occurrence and management of malfunction unrelated to pacemaker/lead failure or lead dislodgement.

Effect of prostaglandin E2 and F2alpha on the systemic and pulmonary circulation in pregnant anesthetized women.

The hemodynamic effect of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) and of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was studied in 12 healthy volunteers admitted for suction abortion at 10--12 weeks of gestation. They were anesthesized using natrium thiomebumal, pethidine and pancuronium bromide. PGF 2 alpha was given as an intravenous infusion of 100 micrograms/min, the dose being increased by 100 micrograms every 10 min to a maximum of 300 micrograms/min.

The closed co-axial analgesia system.

A twin-tube system for nitrous oxide analgesia in dental surgeries is described. The system is a non-polluting modification of the Mapleson A system, employing the principle of co-axial tubing introduced by Bain & Spoerel (1972). Active, continuous and calibrated gas removal takes place via the co-axial tubing by means of an ejector flowmeter.

Measurements of cardiac stroke volume in various body positions in pregnancy and during Caesarean section: a comparison between thermodilution and impedance cardiography.

A total of 220 simultaneous pairs of measurements of cardiac stroke volume were made in twelve women before and during Caesarean section in order to compare impedance cardiography with the thermodilution method. A significantly higher coefficient of correlation was found before (r = 0.77) than during anaesthesia (r = 0.