Position Statement on the Management of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices in Australia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Living Document

Saurabh Kumar; Haris Haqqani; Gareth Wynn; Rajeev K Pathak; Jonathan Lipton; Rajiv Mahajan; Prashanthan Sanders; Stewart Healey; Bradley Wilsmore; Justin A Mariani; Stuart P Thomas; Rukshen Weerasooriya; Andrew McGavigan; Paul A Gould; Paul Weatherley; Natasha Saad; Mitchell Cowan; Samual Turnbull; Ivana Trivic; Michael Wong; Ivaylo Tonchev; Joseph B Morton; Jonathan R Skinner; Andreas Pflaumer; Mark McGuire; Peter Kistler; Jonathan M Kalman; Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) Heart Rhythm Council COVID-19 Pandemic Working Group

doi:10.1016/j.hlc.2020.04.001

Position Statement on the Management of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices in Australia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Living Document

Heart Lung Circ. 2020 Jun;29(6):e57-e68. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2020.04.001. Epub 2020 May 11.

Authors

Saurabh Kumar¹, Haris Haqqani², Gareth Wynn³, Rajeev K Pathak⁴, Jonathan Lipton⁵, Rajiv Mahajan⁶, Prashanthan Sanders⁷, Stewart Healey⁸, Bradley Wilsmore⁹, Justin A Mariani¹⁰, Stuart P Thomas¹¹, Rukshen Weerasooriya¹², Andrew McGavigan¹³, Paul A Gould¹⁴, Paul Weatherley¹⁴, Natasha Saad¹⁵, Mitchell Cowan¹⁵, Samual Turnbull¹¹, Ivana Trivic¹⁶, Michael Wong¹⁷, Ivaylo Tonchev³, Joseph B Morton³, Jonathan R Skinner¹⁸, Andreas Pflaumer¹⁹, Mark McGuire²⁰, Peter Kistler¹⁰, Jonathan M Kalman³; Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) Heart Rhythm Council COVID-19 Pandemic Working Group

Affiliations

¹ Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Westmead Applied Research Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: heartrhythm@csanz.edu.au.
² Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, and University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qid, Australia.
³ The Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
⁴ Canberra Hospital and Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
⁵ Royal Hobart Hospital and University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas, Australia.
⁶ Lyell McEwin Hospital, Adelaide, and University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁷ Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, Royal Adelaide Hospital and University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁸ Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
⁹ University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
¹⁰ The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne and Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
¹¹ Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Westmead Applied Research Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹² University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹³ Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
¹⁴ Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Qid, Australia.
¹⁵ The Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹⁶ Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹⁷ Western Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
¹⁸ Westmead Children's Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹⁹ The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
²⁰ Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, and University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a significant stress on health resources in Australia. The Heart Rhythm Council of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand aims to provide a framework for efficient resource utilisation balanced with competing risks when appropriately treating patients with cardiac arrhythmias. This document provides practical recommendations for the electrophysiology (EP) and cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) services in Australia. The document will be updated regularly as new evidence and knowledge is gained with time.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cardiac electrophysiology; Cardiac implantable electronic devices; Congenital heart disease; Personal protective equipment.

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Australia / epidemiology
Betacoronavirus*
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections* / epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections* / physiopathology
Coronavirus Infections* / therapy
Defibrillators, Implantable*
Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac*
Humans
Pandemics*
Pneumonia, Viral* / epidemiology
Pneumonia, Viral* / physiopathology
Pneumonia, Viral* / therapy
SARS-CoV-2