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Objective: Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) have been increasingly used in recent years. The incidence of infection has ranged from 0.5 % to 12% in the literature. The purposes of this study was to investigate the frequency of CIED infection and to find the causes of infection. Patients and methods: Totally, 211 patients with CIED infection were retrospectively evaluated. For each patient, all the following data were recorded; age, sex, CIED type, accompanying diseases, complete blood count, serum biochemistry, echocardiographic findings and whether first implantation or replacement. In addition, wound culture, antibiotic regime, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and anticoagulation test results were recorded in infected patients. Results: CIED infection was detected in 18 of the 211 patients (8.5%). 15 cases developed infection following the first implantation (10%), and 3 cases after replacement (5%). Infection was detected within 60 days in 5 patients. CIED pocket cultures were positive in 12 patients (66.7%). 13 of 18 infected devices were removed (72.2%). Diabetes mellitus [Odds Ratio, OR: 4.56 (1.449-14.408)] (p=0.010), male sex [OR: 3.84 (1.034-14.232)] (p=0.045) and increasing age [OR: 0.96 (0.932-0.998)] (p=0.038) were found as significant independent variables on development of CIED; but, pacemaker, implantable cardioverter defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization were not independent variables [OR: 1.66 (0.469-5.929)] (p=0.43). Conclusions: Increasing age, male sex, diabetes mellitus were related to increased frequency of CIED infections. Identification of comorbid conditions prior to CIED implantations may be important in reducing risk of CIED infections.

Objective: Alterations in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) may cause impairment in the metabolic processes that can lead to weight gain. The purpose of this study was to determine the difference between the resting energy expenditure (REE) and the resting ANS activity in overweight/obese and normal-weight healthy subjects. Method: Group 1 consisted of 18 subjects with BMI > 25 kg/m2, and 20 subjects with BMI ranging from 20 to 25 kg/m2 formed group 2. Measurements of low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) power components expressed in normalized units (LFnu, HFnu) and LF/HF ratio were assessed for analysis of heart rate variability, and simultaneously REE measurement was performed. Results: The mean LFnu (27.2% increased) and the LF/HF were higher and the mean HFnu was lower (29.9% decreased) in group 1 than in group 2 (p < 0.01). Although a statistical difference was observed in REE between groups, REE per kilogram corrected for fat-free mass (REEFFMcorr) was 21.47 ± 2.92 kcal/day/kg in group 1, and 21.56 ± 1.90 kcal/day/kg in group 2, and this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: We concluded that REEFFMcorr in overweight/obese and normal-weight subjects were similar despite elevated sympathovagal balance in overweight/obese individuals, and REEFFMcorr should be used to avoid misestimating the REE in obese and normal-weight subjects.