Left bundle branch area pacing guided by continuous uninterrupted monitoring of unipolar pacing characteristics

• Published in: Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 299 - 307
• Main Authors: Gillis, Kris, O'Neill, Louisa, Wielandts, Jean‐Yves, Hilfiker, Gabriela, Vlase, Alina, Knecht, Sébastien, Duytschaever, Mattias, Tavernier, René, Polain de Waroux, Jean‐Benoît
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2022
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bundle of His; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial - adverse effects; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial - methods; Electrocardiography - methods; Heart Conduction System; His bundle pacing; Humans; left bundle branch area pacing; Middle Aged; Morphology; physiologic pacing; Treatment Outcome; Ventricular Septum; left bundle branch area pacing; physiologic pacing; His bundle pacing
• ISSN: 1045-3873; 1540-8167
• DOI: 10.1111/jce.15302

Introduction During left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) lead implantation, intermittent monitoring of unipolar pacing characteristics confirms LBB capture and can detect septal perforation. We aimed to demonstrate that continuous uninterrupted unipolar pacing from an inserted lead stylet (LS) is feasible and facilitates LBBAP implantation. Methods Thirty patients (mean age 76 ± 14 years) were implanted with a stylet‐driven pacing lead (Biotronik Solia S60). In 10 patients (comparison‐group) conventional implantation with interrupted unipolar pacing was performed, with comparison of unipolar pacing characteristics between LS and connector‐pin (CP)‐pacing after each rotation step. In 20 patients (uninterrupted‐group) performance and safety of uninterrupted implantation during continuous pacing from the LS were evaluated. Results In the comparison group, LS and CP‐pacing impedances were highly correlated (R2 = 0.95, p < .0001, bias 12 ± 37 Ω) with comparable sensed electrograms and paced QRS morphologies. In the uninterrupted group, continuous LS‐pacing allowed beat‐to‐beat monitoring of impedance and QRS morphology to guide implantation. This resulted in successful LBBAP in all patients, after a mean of 1 ± 0 attempts, with mean threshold 0.81 ± 0.4 V, median sensing 6.5 mV [IQR 4.4–9.5], and mean impedance 624 ± 101 Ω. Positive LBBAP‐criteria were seen in all patients with median paced QRS duration of 120 ms [IQR 112–152 ms] and median pLVAT 73 ms [IQR 68–80.5 ms]. No septal perforation occurred. Conclusion Unipolar pacing from the LS allows accurate determination of pacing impedance and generates similar paced QRS morphologies and sensed electrograms to CP pacing. Continuous LS pacing allows real‐time monitoring of impedance and paced QRS morphology, which facilitates safe and successful LBBAP lead implantation.