Introduction

As our population ages with the increasing prevalence of comorbidities, and indication for cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) expand for treatment of heart failure, bradyarrhythmias and sudden cardiac death prevention, there is a simultaneous increase in associated device infections.1 The incidence of CIED infections is around 1% to 2% among reported observational and registry studies.2 3 These device infections are associated with significant morbidity, increased long-term mortality and associated healthcare costs.4 Rates of CIED infection are higher with device replacement or upgrade procedure and thoracotomy implants.5 There are several known factors associated with increased risk of CIED infection (box 1). In particular, the risk of infection is higher among patients undergoing defibrillator and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) device implants compared patients with simple pacemaker implants.6 Adequate skin preparation, strict aseptic technique, preprocedural antibiotic prophylaxis, periprocedural anticoagulant therapy management, meticulous surgical technique and a robust quality control programme is necessary for the prevention of infections. With the introduction of leadless pacemakers and subcutaneous implantable defibrillators, management of CIED infections continues to evolve.7 8 Professional society documents continue to provide guidance on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of CIED infections.9–11 In this review article, we attempt to provide an overview of prevention, diagnosis and management of CIED infections to the practising cardiologist.