Temporary transvenous pacing: analysis of indications, complications and malfunctions in acute myocardial infarction versus noninfarction settings.

The clinical records of 339 consecutive patients who had received temporary transvenous pacemakers were analyzed for indications, complications and malfunctions. Of the 156 patients who had had an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 50% had had anterior wall and 43.6% inferior wall involvement. The route of electrode insertion was the antecubital vein in 71%, subclavian vein in 24%, internal jugular vein in 4%, and a femoral vein in the remainder. The indication for pacing in the AMI group was atrioventricular (A-V) block in 55%, fascicular block in 32% and other arrhythmias in 13% of the cases. In the non-AMI group, the indication for pacing was A-V block in 46.4%, sick sinus syndrome in 25%, preparation for noncardiac surgery in 12%, and diagnostic purposes in the remainder. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) occurred only in the AMI group and appeared in 9 (5.66%) of these cases. The site of infarction did not significantly affect the incidence of VF. Ventricular premature beats (VPBs) and ventricular tachycardia (VT) appeared in 28.8 and 12.8% of the AMI group and 4.4 and 3.3% of the non-AMI group, respectively. No difference in the incidence of myocardial perforation, sepsis, and phlebitis was encountered between the AMI and non-AMI groups. Total malfunction rate was significantly higher in the AMI group (15%) vs. the non-AMI group (4%). A higher rate of pacing malfunction was found when a semifloating electrode was used through the subclavian vein (14.3%) vs. a 6 or 7 French electrode through the antecubital vein (7%). Thus, temporary pacing is safe and associated with lower incidence of complications and malfunctions in non-AMI than in AMI subjects. Moreover, a lower incidence of malfunction was encountered when a 6 or 7 French electrode was inserted through the antecubital vein.