Baseline Characteristics
Among the 126 patients with a temporary pacemaker, 63 (50%) had a TPPM,
and others (n=63) had a BTTP. Baseline demographics and cardiac history
are summarized in Table 1. The mean age was 66.6 + 16.5
years in the TPPM group compared to 70.1 + 12.6 years in the BTTP
group (P= 0.183). Both groups had similar baseline characteristics,
including female gender and racial minorities representation. Fifty-two
percent of the TPPM group were males compared to 54% of BTTP group.
African Americans constituted more than 25% of each group (P= 0.672).
The prevalence of hypertension was similar in both groups. There was no
statistically significant difference in the prevalence of coronary
artery disease and congestive heart failure between the two groups at
time of pacemaker insertion. None of the patients in both groups had a
history of DVT/PE prior to admission.
The most common indication for temporary pacemaker placement in both
groups was AV node dysfunction (50.8% vs 52.4%), followed by sinus
node dysfunction and ventricular arrhythmia overriding (p=0.911,Table 2 ). For the TPPM cohort, subclavian vein was the site of
access in 89.0% of cases, followed by internal jugular vein (11.0%).
The femoral vein was not used as access site in this group. However, the
femoral vein was most used for access in the BTTP group (65.1%)
followed by internal jugular vein (31.7%) and subclavian vein (3.2%)
(P<0.001).