What are the long-term infection rates associated with pectoral versus abdominal approach to cardioverter-defibrillator implants?
A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology in 2001 examined the long-term infection rates associated with pectoral and abdominal approaches to cardioverter-defibrillator implants. The results showed that the pectoral approach was associated with lower infection rates than the abdominal approach, with a 2.2% rate of infection for the pectoral approach versus a 5.3% rate of infection for the abdominal approach. Subsequent studies, such as the one published in the American Heart Journal in 2004, have confirmed these findings, with abdominal implantation associated with higher infection rates than pectoral implantation.