Study of Right Ventricular Pacing Threshold at National Teaching Hospital of Cotonou in Benin

Abstract

The main purpose was to study the right ventricular pacing threshold of patients who benefit from cardiac pacemaker's implantation at the National Teaching Hospital of Cotonou in Benin. This was a retrospective study from January 2007 to September 2013. The right ventricular pacing threshold measured during successive checks has been studied. A threshold greater than 1 volt was considered high. The conventional causes of threshold's rising were sought. 35 files were examined. The average threshold of our patients amounted to 1.24 ± 1.17 volts at the first control and remained high until the end of follow-up. The prevalence of threshold elevation was 17% (6/35). The causes of threshold elevation were: late displacement of the lead (1 case), faulty lead (1 case), and suspected lead's micro dislodgment (1 case). There was no formal etiology found for 3 cases. Half of threshold elevation cases involved a problem of pacing lead. Similar findings have been reported by previous studies. This study has confirmed that threshold elevation mainly involved pacemaker lead. The premature need to change the pacemaker caused by this elevation has considerable consequences in a Beninese local context marked the lack of governmental facilities.