Abstract
<b>Introduction:</b> Pneumothorax is an uncommon but serious complication of cardiac device insertion, which may need further interventions and increase the hospital stay. The incidence of pneumothorax post-cardiac device insertion as per the literature is around 0.5-2.6%. We, therefore, set out to review our local data. <b>Method:</b> An audit was carried out at our centre. It included all patients who underwent either a cardiac pacemaker or a cardiac resynchronisation device insertion between 2014 and 2018. <b>Result:</b> 3915 patients underwent a cardiac device insertion between 2014 and 2018. The mean age was 77 (SD 11.2) years, and 2457 (62.8%) were male. The incidence of pneumothorax as a post-procedure complication was seen in 47 (1.2%) patients. Of these, 26 (55.3%) were male, and 21 (44.7%) were female. Patients who developed a pneumothorax had a mean age of 78.8 (SD 11.8) years. In those patients who developed a pneumothorax, 20 (42.6%) were treated conservatively, 2 (4.2%) underwent needle aspiration, and 25 (53.2%) required a chest drain insertion. The average duration of chest drain insertion was 4.3 days (3.8 in males vs 5.1 in females). 13 patients (52%) had the chest drain in situ for three days or less. 10 patients who developed a pneumothorax had an underlying lung disease. <b>Conclusion:</b> Incidence of pneumothorax following a cardiac device insertion and treatment with a pleural intervention though rare, is more common than previously described. Our study highlights that older female patients are at higher risk of developing complications, requiring tube thoracocentesis. Further prospective studies are indicated to understand the risk factors and interventions.
Published Version
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