Expanded population of Boston Scientific pacemakers exhibiting hydrogen-induced accelerated battery depletion due to specific in-built low-voltage capacitor

A Dear Healthcare Professional Letter has been issued by Boston Scientific Asia Pacific to update healthcare professionals, as a follow-up to an earlier communication in 2018, that the population of Boston Scientific pacemakers and cardiac resynchronisation pacemakers (CRT-Ps) exhibiting hydrogen-induced accelerated battery depletion has been expanded to include any pacemaker built with a specific, discontinued low-voltage capacitor. The most common clinical impact of this behaviour is early device replacement. The production of affected pacemakers ceased in November 2017, and are no longer available for implantation. Healthcare professionals are advised to perform system follow-up via remote or in-office interrogation at least every 12 months till one-year-remaining and thereafter every three months until replacement is indicated and to contact Boston Scientific if accelerated battery depletion is observed upon assessment during follow-ups. Healthcare professionals are also advised to replace any affected pacemakers suspected of exhibiting accelerated battery depletion within 90 days of the Explant battery status indicator. Prophylactic replacement is not recommended for pacemakers with normal battery consumption as the risk of surgical replacement outweighs the risk of accelerated battery depletion. Please refer to the letter for details. Published: 18 Jun 2021

Dear Healthcare Professional Letters