Pediatric Epicardial Devices: Early and Midterm Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Lead performance is suboptimal in young patients and a main cause of device system failure. Our objective was to assess early and midterm outcomes after epicardial device implantation in a contemporary pediatric cohort. METHODS: A total of 116 consecutive pediatric patients underwent 137 epicardial device implantations from 2010 to 2019. Forty pacemakers and 97 implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) were implanted. Lead failure was defined as leads repaired, replaced, or abandoned due to fracture, dislodgement, or dysfunction. Freedom from device system failure was determined using Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: Mean age at implantation was 10 ± 5 years, 46 (34%) were younger than 8 years old, 41 (30%) had prior cardiac surgery, and 38 (28%) had prior devices. Main indications were acquired heart block (17/40 [43%]), sinus node dysfunction (14/40 [35%]), and congenital heart block (7/40 [18%]) for pacemakers, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (46/97 [47%]), long QT syndrome (31/97 [32%]), and ventricular arrhythmia (17/97 [18%]) for ICDs. There were no early deaths. Three-year freedom from device system failure was 80% (95% CI 73%, 88%) for all patients and 88% (95% CI 79%, 99%) for patients <8 years old. Device system failure causes included lead fracture (20/34 [59%]), lead dysfunction (5/34 [15%]), lead dislodgement (5/34 [15%]), infection (3/34 [9%]), and pericarditis (1/34 [3%]). Reintervention was required in 26/34 (76%) device system failures. CONCLUSIONS: Epicardial device implantation is safe, shows acceptable midterm outcomes in children, and is an effective option in patients younger than 8 years old. Close device surveillance continues to be essential to detect lead failure early and ensure timely reintervention.