Differences in Approaches and Outcomes of Defibrillator Lead Implants Between High-Volume and Low-Volume Operators: Results From the Pacemaker and Implantable Defibrillator Leads Survival Study ("PAIDLESS").

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between operator volume and implantable defibrillator lead failure and patient mortality at a single large implanting center.

METHODS

This study analyzed the differences between high-volume and low-volume defibrillator implanters in the Pacemaker and Implantable Defibrillator Lead Survival Study ("PAIDLESS") between February 1, 1996 and December 31, 2011 at NYU Winthrop Hospital. "High-volume" was defined as performing ≥500 implants over the study period, while "low-volume" was defined as performing <500 implants. Comparisons between the procedure volume groups were performed using Fisher's Exact test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and Kaplan-Meier analysis as appropriate.

RESULTS

Eight operators participated in the study, four of whom were high-volume operators. Of 3801 patients, a total of 3149 (83%) were operated upon by high-volume operators. Low-volume operators implanted fewer recalled leads (12% vs 42%; P<.001) and more often obtained venous access through the cephalic vein cutdown approach (63% vs 38%; P<.001) than high-volume operators. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed shorter time to lead failure in the low-volume group (P=.02). Time to mortality was not significantly different between the high-volume and low-volume groups (P=.18). When adjusted for lead recall status, patients of high-volume operators were 43% less likely to experience lead failure compared to patients of low-volume operators.

CONCLUSIONS

High-volume defibrillator implanters selected a higher percentage of recalled leads, but their patients were less likely to encounter lead failure when adjusted for lead recall status compared to low-volume operators.