Please send your responses to Sue Shepard.

1.       This is regarding the temporary pacemaker in your post-op open-heart surgery patients:

a.      Is the temporary pacemaker connected to the patient’s temporary pacing wires when the patient leaves the OR and is admitted to the ICU? What has motivated this practice?

b.      If the patient does not need pacing as the patient leaves the operating room is the pacemaker turned on to a back-up mode such as VVI or is the pacemaker connected and turned off?

c.       Is the pacemaker not connected to the open-heart surgery patient immediately post-op? What has motivated this practice?

2.       What is your practice in disconnecting the pacemaker from the post-op open-heart surgery patient? i.e. 24 hours post-op, 24 hours since the last time the patient was paced? Or?

Thank you for your responses!

Sue 

Sue Shepard, RN, BSN, CCDS

Electrophysiology Care Coordinator

Certified Cardiac Device Specialist

Rady Children’s Hospital and Health Center

Division of Cardiology

3020 Children’s Way; MC 5004

San Diego, CA 92123-4282

858-576-1700 x5102

Fax: 858-966-8554

e-mail: