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").

ABSTRACT

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.