Table 6.
Development of the 99 systemic infections (initial diagnosis) according to the initial and final therapeutic approach (note that 19 patients who failed with antimicrobial therapy are then included in the TLE group).
| Death n (%) |
Failures n (%) |
Healing n (%) |
Contralateral Relapse 1 n (%) |
Overall n |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusive antimicrobial treatment 2 | 5 (19.2) | 19 (73.1) | 2 (7.7) | - | 26 |
| TLE 3 | |||||
| Complete | 5 (6.5) | 0 (0.0) | 68 (88.3) | 4 (5.2) | 77 |
| Incomplete | 1 (7.7) | 6 (46.2) | 5 (38.5) | 1 (7.7) | 13 |
| Cardiac surgery 4 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (85.7) | 1 (14.3) | 7 |
TLE: transvenous lead extraction. 1 All cases with relapse with infection in the contralateral system underwent a new TLE and healed. 2 All deaths were due to septic shock due to an S. aureus infection. 3 Performed initially in 71 patients and as a second option in 19 patients in which exclusive antimicrobial treatment failed (90 patients altogether). Six deaths were unrelated to the technique, but to diverse complications (cerebrovascular accident, idiopathic ventricular fibrillation, sepsis, nosocomial pneumonia, etc.) occurring during the immediate postoperative period. Out of the six patients who presented with relapse after an incomplete TLE, five underwent cardiac surgery and were finally cured. In the other patient, a chronic suppressive antimicrobial treatment was administered and they subsequently died. 4 Cardiac surgery was performed in 7 patients: 5 after failed TLE and as the first approach in 2 other patients in which TLE was judged extremely difficult.