Electrocautery and patients with implanted cardiac devices.
Overview
abstract
Implanted cardiac devices, pacemakers, and automatic cardioverter/defibrillators are becoming more common in the general population. There are more than one-half million persons with pacemakers living in North America, and approximately 20,000 patients have received automatic implantable cardioverter/defibrillators. As pacemaker and defibrillator patients experience common gastrointestinal afflictions, it is likely that more will require endoscopic procedures. Appropriate precautions must be undertaken during electrosurgical procedures in order to avoid damage and interruption of pacemaker/defibrillator devices. Through careful assessment, intervention, and discharge planning, the GI nurse and associate can reduce electrosurgical risks to the gastrointestinal patient with an implanted cardiac device. Specific recommendations for preprocedure patient assessment and intraprocedure interventions are discussed, and an actual case is presented to illustrate a successful plan of care.
