Survival probability of transvenous polyurethane insulated atrial pacemaker leads

Three hundred and eighty two transvenous polyurethane insulated atrial pacing leads were followed up and their survival probability was reviewed with special reference to lead failure. The survival probability (SP) was calculated with Kaplan-Meier method by models and compared with generalized Wilcoxon test. The SP of model 6991U was 37.7% at 12.5 years after implantation and the lowest significantly (p<0.01) among all models. Careful observation is necessary on this leads. The SP of models 6990U, 4502 and 4512 was 93.3% at 14 yrs, 91.4% at 11 yrs and 86.7% at 9 years respectively. The SP of models 4504 and 4524 was 100% to 4 and 2 years respectively. This increase of SP resulted from improved lead technology. The SP of all polyurethane atrial leads was 97.4%, 84.7% and 76.6% at 5, 10 and 14 years, respectively. The mean survival of all atrial leads was 12.8 years. These results showed relatively poor survival probability of polyurethane insulated atrial leads after 10 years post-implant.