| Theme | Death-dealing arrhythmia -- diagnosis, treatment and prevention | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Usefulness and problems associated with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator/cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillation in dialysis patients | |
| Publish Date | 2015/04 | |
| Author | Takashi Mizuki | Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University |
| Author | Morio Shoda | Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University |
| [ Summary ] | An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was demonstrated to reduce mortality in many randomized controlled trials. However, most of these trials excluded hemodialysis patients. Whether the indication of ICD therapy could be extended to hemodialysis patients is unclear. Some small trials showed high mortality rates after ICD implantation among hemodialysis patients. High mortality from noncardiovascular causes and high incidence of catheter-associated bacteremia may lead to restrictions in the use of ICD in older populations. Considering that ICD infection is a critical complication and lead removal is a risky procedure, prevention of ICD infection is highly important. Randomized trials of ICD implantation among dialysis patients are needed to delineate the benefits of ICD. |
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