Temporary cardiac pacing is a necessary skill for any doctor concerned with managing patients with life threatening bradycardia. Often, in the district hospital setting, an inexperienced member of an acute medical team will be called on to support the heart rate of a sick patient by inserting a temporary pacing electrode. Apart from knowing when to institute pacing, this requires proficient central venous cannulation and manual dexterity for stable positioning of the catheter. Temporary pacing is probably more difficult than permanent pacing for which the electrodes have a pliant stylet, and can be steered to some extent. Also, temporary pacing commonly is required under the most stressful conditions when the patient's life may depend on rapidly achieving and maintaining reliable pacing.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Fitzpatrick et al. (1992) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 3 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: