Twenty years experience with pediatric pacing: epicardial and transvenous stimulation

Objective: Permanent cardiac pacing in children and adolescents is rare and often occurs by means of epicardial pacing. Based on two decades of experi ence, operative and postoperative data of patients with epicardial and tran svenous pacing were analyzed retrospectively. Methods: Between October 1979 and December 1998, 71 patients (mean age, 5.3 +/- 4.2, range, 1 day-16.2 y ears; mean body weight, 18 +/- 12; range, 8-56 kg) underwent permanent pace maker implantation. Indications were sinus node dysfunction and atrio-ventr icular block following surgery for congenital heart disease (69%), or conge nital atrioventricular block (31%). Pacing was purely atrial (1.4%), purely ventricular (73%), ventricular with atrial synchronization (5.6%), or atri oventricular synchronized (20%). Epicardial pacing was established in 49 (6 9%), transvenous in 22 (31%) patients. Follow-up was 3.4 +/- 3.8 years (epi cardial) and 3.0 +/- 4.0 years (transvenous). Results: Epicardial leads wer e implanted in younger patients (mean age: 4.5 vs. 7.0 years, P < 0.05) and preferably after surgery induced atrioventricular block (78 vs. 46%, P < 0 .05). The youngest patient with transvenous pacing was 1.3 years old (weigh t, 8.5 kg). At implantation epicardial ventricular stimulation threshold at 1.0 ms was 1.07 +/- 0.46 vs. 0.53 +/- 0.31 V (transvenous) (P < 0.05). The age-adjusted rate of lead-related reoperations was significantly higher in patients with epicardial leads (P < 0.05), mainly due to increasing chroni c stimulation thresholds resulting in early battery depletion. In three pat ients who received steroid-eluting epicardial leads initial low thresholds persisted after five month to one years. In two patients with recurrent epi cardial threshold increase, steroid-eluting epicardial leads led to good ac ute and chronic thresholds after nine to 15 month. Two post-operative death (2.8%) were probably due to a dysfunction of the (epicardial) pacing syste m. Conclusions: Transvenous pacing in the pediatric population is associate d with a lower acute stimulation threshold and a lower rate of lead-related complications. If epicardial pacing is necessary (e.g. small body weight, special intracardiac anatomy (e.g. Fontan), impossible access to superior c aval vein), steroid-eluting leads may be considered. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. Ail rights reserved.