Why the study?
What is the current role of defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing in transvenous and subcutaneous ICD implantation?
What is the current role of defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing in transvenous and subcutaneous ICD implantation?
While DFT testing is largely obsolete for routine transvenous ICD implants, it remains a class I guideline recommendation for subcutaneous ICDs pending further data.
Uncertainty persists for DFT testing in subcutaneous ICDs; leaves open need for prospective trials before practice change.
When the transvenous ICD initially came into use for primary and secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death, defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing was universally performed. However, DFT testing is no longer routinely recommended for transvenous ICD implantation except in certain situations. Risk scores can help guide the decision to perform DFT testing. The subcutaneous ICD represents an area of uncertainty, with limited data available regarding the role of DFT testing in these devices. Current guidelines give a class I recommendation for performing DFT testing at the time of implant. Further studies are needed before this recommendation can be safely dismissed.
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Hayase et al. (2018) studied this question.
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