Data collection and data management
Thorough information about the patients’ history, clinical and echocardiographic data, intracardiac device data, extraction indication, comorbidites, procedural success, hospitalization length, early (before discharge) and long-term follow-up (after discharge) mortality data were collected on case-report forms. Particularly, chronic kidney disease was defined according with NICE UK-KDIGO US guideline (17); reduced LVEF is defined as ≤ 40%, as recently reported on the Universal Definition and Classification of Heart failure (18). The consistency and accuracy of the data have been audited by health data management. Costs associated with the procedure and the hospitalization were derived from the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) reimbursements our Institution received from Regione Lazio in Italy.