Diaphragm pacing in ventilatory failure.

Diaphragm pacing, which entails electrical stimulation to the phrenic nerve, is an effective means of managing patients with ventilatory insufficiency and intact lowermotor-neurone innervation of the diaphragm. The pacing apparatus is used to pace the right and left hemidiaphragms alternately to avoid fatigue, which may damage the muscle irreversibly. Among the important benefits of pacing in quadriplegics with paralysis or respiratory muscles are the social and psychological advantages of not being dependent on a mechanical ventilator.     

Lung function in diaphragm pacing.

Electric stimulation of the diaphragm via the phrenic nerve to induce ventilation has recently been used for the long-term management of chronic ventilatory insufficiency. Since 1973 three patients with inadequate alveolar ventilation have been treated with diaphragm pacing at the Toronto Western Hospital. Two, who had quadriplegia due to lesions of the spinal cord in the upper cervical region and a severe restrictive ventilatory defect, were treated with continuous diaphragm pacing. The third patient required assisted nocturnal ventilation because of primary alveolar hypoventilation. All three patients tolerated the diaphragm pacing well, and pulmonary function tests showed satisfactory gas exchange with the patients breathing room air. This form of therapy seems to be a practical clinical method of managing chronic ventilatory failure in patients with lesions of the upper cervical cord or primary alveolar hypoventilation.     

Dual-demand pacing for reciprocating atrioventricular tachycardia.

By using programmed electrical stimulation of the heart and studying the initiation and termination of reciprocating atrioventricular tachycardia two patients with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome were shown to respond rapidly and consistently to fixed-rate pacing. A demand pacemaker was implanted in each patient, having been modified so as to switch into the fixed-rate mode whenever the tachycardia began, thereby terminating the arrhythmia. This appears to be a promising form of treatment in patients with otherwise intractable paroxysmal tachycardia who have been shown by careful study to respond in this way.     

Atrial pacing, the forgotten pacing mode

In patients with sick sinus syndrome and normal atrioventricular conduction, physiological pacing can be accomplished with either a single chamber atrial pacemaker AAI/R or a dual chamber pacemaker DDD/R. The single chamber device has the advantages of simpler implantation and lower initial costs, while the dual chamber device offers protection in case atrioventricular conduction disturbances develop in the future. When rigorous attention is paid to the pre-implantation selection criteria, the incidence of reported second- or third-degree atrioventricular block varied between 0.4 and 1.8% per annum. Medical practice, however, has shifted to predominant implantation of DDD/R pacemakers in more than 95% of patients with sick sinus syndrome. Recent publications have reported an increase in left atrial diameter, decrease in left ventricular fractional shortening and increased incidence of atrial fibrillation in patients with DDD/R pacing as compared with patients with single chamber atrial devices. These changes were proportional to the percentage of ventricular paced beats. New algorithms in dual chamber devices have been developed in order to minimise ventricular stimulation. These are being evaluated at present. In my opinion there is still a place for atrial pacing in selected patients with sick sinus syndrome with a minimum risk of developing complete atrioventricular block. (Neth Heart J 2008;16(suppl 1): S25-S27.)     

Pericardial complications of endocardial and epicardial pacing.

A patient with complete atrioventricular block was fitted with a temporary endocardial pacing wire via a right subclavian percutaneous approach. The result was initially satisfactory, but within a few days radiography for left-sided chest pain showed pneumopericardium. A permanent epicardial pacing system was therefore substituted and she remained well for three months. She was then admitted for syncope: the pacemaker was failing to capture, and radiography showed pericardial and pleural effusion. A new permanent endocardial pacing system using a wedged electrode was inserted and she made an uncomplicated recovery. Pneumopericardium complicating endocardial pacing has apparently not been reported before. Presumably the electrode had penetrated both the right ventricle and the pericardium into the adjacent lung.     

Permanent parahisian pacing

Right Ventricular Apical permanent pacing could have negative hemodynamic effects. A physiologic pacing modality should preserve a correct atrio-ventricular and interventricular synchronization. This can be obtained through biventricular pacing, left ventricular pacing, or from alternative right ventricular pacing sites. Direct His Bundle Pacing (DHBP) was documented as reliable and effective for preventing the desynchronization and negative effects of right ventricular apical pacing. It is, however, a complex method that requires longer average implant times, cannot be carried out on all patients and presents high pacing thresholds. On the contrary, the parahisian pacing, with simpler feasibility and reliability criteria, seems to guarantee an early invasion of the His-Purkinje conduction system, with a physiological ventricular activation, very similar to the one that can be obtained with direct His bundle pacing. We present our experience on 68 patients who underwent a permanent right ventricular pacing in hisian/parahisian region, for advanced AV block and narrow QRS. In the first 17 patients we performed a double-blind randomized controlled study, with two 6-months cross-over periods in parahisian and apical pacing, documenting a significant improvement of NYHA class, exercise tolerance, quality of life score, mitral and tricuspidal regurgitation degree, and interventricular mechanical delay. In the subsequent 51 patients, in a mean follow of 21 months/patient, the pacing threshold remained stable (0.7+/-0.5 V implant; 0.9+/-0.7 V follow-up; p=0.08). The ejection fraction maintained medium-long term stable values, confirming the fact that the parahisian pacing can prevent deterioration of the left ventricular function. Parahisian pacing, therefore, has proven to be a reliable method, easy to apply and effective in preventing the negative effects induced by non-physiological right ventricular apical pacing.     

Permanent pacemaker malfunction: diagnostic aspects of temporary pacing.

A temporary pacing electrode can function as a diagnostic as well as a therapeutic tool. This is illustrated in two patients whose permanent pacemakers unexpectedly failed. In the first patient a demand pacemaker was inhibited by a magnet rather than converting to the asynchronous mode. In the second the pacemaker appeared to be producing low-voltage potentials not detectable on the surface electrocardiogram. The presence of a temporary pacing electrode can be useful for defining the cause of pacemaker failure and the nature of any associated arrhythmias.