Transvenous Lead Extraction in Chronic Kidney Disease and Dialysis Patients With Infected Cardiac Devices

Background: Cardiac implantable electronic device infections have been on the rise. A high-risk population is that with renal disease, especially dialysis. We aimed to assess procedural profiles and clinical outcomes of transvenous lead extraction for cardiac implantable electronic device infection based on renal disease status. Methods and Results: In 1420 consecutive patients undergoing transvenous lead extraction of infected cardiac implantable electronic devices (1996–2012), we assessed procedural profiles and clinical outcomes in 3 groups: normal renal function (group 1, n=1159), renal dysfunction not requiring dialysis (group 2, n=163), and dialysis (group 3, n=98). A total of 3182 infected leads were extracted. Dialysis patients had shorter lead dwell times and were less likely to require transvenous lead extraction tools but as likely to require femoral workstations. There were higher overall rates of procedure-related complications in dialysis patients (12% versus ≈6% in nondialysis) with no difference in the major complication rates ( P =not significant). Complete procedural success rates were 94%, 96%, and 94% in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively ( P =not significant). There were 4 intraprocedural deaths in group 1 versus none in groups 2 and 3. Mortality rates were significantly higher in dialysis patients both at 1 and 6 months ( P <0.0001 for both). In multivariable analyses, dialysis status was independently associated with increased mortality risk at 1 and 6 months. Other factors associated with mortality were lead material retention, functional (New York Heart Association) class, and occurrence of procedural complications. Conclusions: In patients with cardiac implantable electronic device infection, dialysis status did not seem to add complexity to transvenous lead extraction but was independently associated with increased mortality at 1 and 6 months.