Re: transvenous pacers

["Eric Niegelberg [Emergency Medicine]" <eniegelb@epo.hsc.sunysb.edu>]

We will not change over the box unless it is only in a standby 
situation.  I would not want to chance the inability to capture in 
changing it over.  Our service area is fairly small and we areat each 
of our sending hospitals with a ground ambulance every few days, we 
just drop them back off.  Fed Ex sounds like a reasonable 
alternative.

> From:          "ragnes" <ragnes@gateway.net>
> To:            <flightmed@flightweb.com>
> Subject:       transvenous pacers
> Date:          Thu, 8 Nov 2001 13:42:34 -0500
> Reply-to:      flightmed@flightweb.com

>     I am looking into our team's policies regarding transvenous pacers,
> especially whether or not to change out the pacer box or not prior to
> transport. I have heard concern about losing capture when changing the
> boxes, especially in a patient with no underlying rythmn, or a patient who
> is very pacer dependant.
>     When I worked in a cardiac surgical ICU, we would not change the pacer
> box, the one they came out of the OR on stayed with them until they didn't
> need it anymore, so I don't have any personal experience with changing a box
> and losing capture.  The new medtronic's we were using even had a backup
> battery that would continue to pace, even if you needed to change the
> battery.
>     What are teams out there doing? Are you changing the boxes over to your
> pacer rountinely, have you ever had a problem? If you are not changing the
> pacer, and instead bringing the sending facilities pacer, do you leave them
> with yours ( many hospitals are concerend about only having one or two
> boxes)? Do you change them at the receiving facility if at all? Do you make
> arrangements to fed-ex or otherwise return the equipment?
> Do you have any written policies covering this? Does anyone know what the
> manufacturer reccomendations are?
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Tim Martin, RN BSN
> Med Center Air
> Charlotte NC
> 
> 
> 
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******************************************************
Eric Niegelberg                     Tel: 631-444-2496
EMS Director                        Fax: 631-689-7376
Emergency Department Administrator
Stony Brook University Hospital

******************************************************

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