Real-time Transmission to Real-time Patient Care: A Tale of 4 Devices

• Published in: Canadian journal of cardiology Vol. 29; no. 8; pp. 1014.e1 - 1014.e2
• Main Authors: Chakrabarti, Santabhanu, MD, Chou, Annie, MD, Andrade, Jason G., MD, Bennett, Matthew T., MD, Deyell, Marc W., MD, Tung, Stanley K.K., MD, Krahn, Andrew D., MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 01.08.2013
• Subjects: Aged; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial - adverse effects; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated - diagnosis; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated - etiology; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated - therapy; Cardiovascular; Defibrillators, Implantable - adverse effects; Diagnosis, Differential; Equipment Failure; Humans; Male; Patient Care - methods; Remote Consultation - methods; Tachycardia, Ventricular - diagnosis; Tachycardia, Ventricular - therapy; Videoconferencing
• ISSN: 0828-282X; 1916-7075
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cjca.2012.10.026

Abstract We report a case in which a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy presented with syncope, terminated by a shock from his implantable cardioverter defibrillator. However, subsequent interrogation of the device revealed no tachycardia detection or treatment parameters. The mystifying details of the case were unravelled by remote consultation with the staff electrophysiologist and the use of smart phone-transmitted live images. This case highlights the use of mobile phone-facilitated video conferencing in urgent management of intracardiac device therapy. Judicious use of this technology has the potential to deliver effective and cost-effective solutions for many device-related emergencies in patients at remote settings.