Pathogenesis, risk factors and prevention of cardiac pacing device infections

In the last two decades the number of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CEICD) has progressively increased in our environment. In parallel, there has been an increase in the number of associated infections, which could be due, at least in part, to an ageing target population with increased comorbidity. Infections of CEICD include infection of the generator pocket, electrodes or even adjacent cardiac structures. The most common mechanism of infection is contamination of the electrodes and/or generator during the implantation procedure or in the following days. There are modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors related to the host, the surgical procedure and the device. The document reviews the different measures for the prevention of infection of CEICD and their level of evidence and recommendation. (c) 2023 Sociedad Espanola de Cirugia Cardiovascular y Endovascular. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).