National Audit of Cardiac Rhythm Management: 2022 Summary report

The National Audit of Cardiac Rhythm Management (NACRM), which is part of the National Cardiac Audit Programme (NCAP), has published its latest summary report. Based on data relating to cardiac rhythm management (CRM) procedures from April 2020 to March 2021 at 173 implanting hospitals in England and Wales reporting device procedures, and 56 hospitals that reported ablations, the report focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) devices and catheter ablations. Findings include:

• Hospitals planned their services to avoid patients missing device changes for battery depletion
• Levels of 1-year follow-up of patients implanted with devices remained at previous levels, indicating those suffering complications continued to be identified and treated appropriately
• 84% of hospitals met the national standards for ablation volumes (89% in 2019/20) and 87% met standards for AF ablation (previously 89%)
• There was a 50% fall in procedures during the first wave of COVID-19 hospitalisations, with a smaller but significant fall in the second wave.

The report notes that the fall in procedure numbers has been largely a result of the pandemic, and not within the control of specialists, but recommends that doctors who have become de-skilled should consider undertaking procedures jointly with colleagues, especially for complex or high-risk cases. Those persistently undertaking very small volumes of procedures should examine whether this is sustainable, as should their hospitals. Read the full report: You can read the report by clicking on the link below. Stay-up-to-date: For notifications of future reports from HQIP, sign up to our mailing list.