Key result
COVID-19 pandemic shows no significant change in overall CIED implantations compared to pre-pandemic rates.
Why the study?
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiac implantable electronic devices' implantation rates in Croatia was not previously determined.
Observational
Yes
Stable CIED volumes in Croatia during pandemic support service resilience; leaves open generalizability and need for prospective confirmation.
INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has influenced health-care organization worldwide, including management of non-communicable diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cardiac implantable electronic devices' (CIEDs) implantation rates in Croatia. METHODS: A retrospective, observational, national study was conducted. The data on CIEDs' implantation rates from 20 Croatian implantation centres, between January 2018 and June 2021, were extracted from the national Health Insurance Fund registry. Implantation rates before and after COVID-19 pandemic started, were compared. RESULTS: The overall numbers of CIED implantations in Croatia during COVID-19 pandemic were not different in comparison to 2 years pre-COVID-19 time (2618 vs. 2807, p = .081). The pacemaker implantation rates decreased significantly (by 45%) during April (122 vs. 223, p < .001) and May 2020 (135 vs. 244, p = .001), as well as during November 2020 (177 vs. 264, p = .003), but significantly increased during summer months 2020 comparing to 2018 and 2019 (737 vs. 497, p<0.001). The ICD implantation rates decreased significantly by 59% in April 2020 (26 vs. 64, p = .048). CONCLUSION: To the authors best knowledge this is a first study including complete national data on CIED implantation rates and COVID-19 pandemic impact. A significant reduction in number of both pacemaker and ICD implants during specific months of the COVID-19 pandemic was determined. However, afterwards compensation in implants resulted in similar total number when the complete year was evaluated.
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Zeljković et al. (2023) conducted an observational in Patients requiring cardiac implantable electronic devices (pacemakers and ICDs). COVID-19 pandemic vs. Pre-COVID-19 period (2018-2019) was evaluated on Overall number of cardiac implantable electronic device implantations per year (p=0.081). The overall number of cardiac implantable electronic device implantations in Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic did not differ significantly compared to the pre-COVID-19 period (2618 vs. 2807, p=0.081).
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