Reproducibility of the effectiveness of defibrillation for terminating induced ventricular fibrillation using intraoperatively measured defibrillation threshold energy in patients with implanted cardioverter-defibrillator

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the long-term reproducibility of the defibrillation efficacy of energies set at the intraoperatively measured defibrillation threshold using a modified testing protocol. Between December 1993 and January 1996, 83 patients receiving an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in combination with a non-thoracotomy lead system and having an intraoperatively measured defibrillation threshold (DFT) < or = 15 J were enrolled in a substudy of a prospective, randomized multicenter trial ("Low Energy Endotak Trial" (LEET)). Step-down DFT testing was performed intraoperatively (15, 10, 8, 5 J). It was mandatory to reproduce a successful conversion of ventricular fibrillation at the DFT energy during implantation (DFT+). At the end of implantation, at predischarge, and after one year, assessment of the defibrillation efficacy of DFT+ energy was repeated (first shock: DFT+, second shock: 2 x DFT+). Mean DFT+ at implant was 9.6 + 3.3 J. Immediately after implantation, successful conversion of induced ventricular fibrillation was achieved in 70/79 (89%) patients using DFT+ energies. In 7/8 (89%) patients only the second shock set at 2 x DFT+ and in one patient only the third shock set at maximum energy (34 J) was successful. At predischarge, defibrillation efficacy of DFT+ was reproducible in 61/77 (79%) patients. The remaining 16 patients were successfully converted using a second shock set at 2 x DFT+. One year after implantation, conversion of ventricular fibrillation was achieved at energies set at DFT+ in 52/62 (84%) patients and in the remaining 10 patients at energies set at 2 x DFT+. A total of 183/218 (84%) episodes of induced ventricular fibrillation were terminated successfully using DFT+ energies. There was no correlation between the intraoperatively determined DFT+ or the underlying cardiac disease and the defibrillation efficacy. These results demonstrate that the defibrillation efficacy for termination of induced ventricular fibrillation using DFT+ energies is reproducible at implantation, at predischarge, and one year after ICD insertion. Energies set at twice DFT+ seems to allow for reliable defibrillation within the first year after ICD implantation.