Wearable Cardioverter-defibrillators for the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death: A Meta-analysis

Wearable cardioverter-defibrillators (WCDs) protect patients from sudden cardiac death (SCD) by detecting and treating life-threatening ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF). Recently, two large studies evaluating WCDs were published. However, the results of older and newer studies have yet to be systematically summarized. The objective of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis assessing the use and effectiveness of WCDs. We searched MEDLINE and Scopus (January 1998–July 2017) as well as the gray literature. We included registry/observational studies that (1) evaluated adult patients using WCDs; (2) provided data on one or more outcomes of interest; and (3) were full-text studies published in English. We calculated pooled incidence and/or rate [with 95% confidence intervals (CIs)] estimates from nonoverlapping populations using a random-effects meta-analysis model. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed via the I(2) statistic. We identified 11 studies (19,882 patients) with nonoverlapping populations/endpoints; seven of them evaluated WCD use across various indications, while the remaining studies restricted their focus to a single indication. Most of the studies were retrospective (82%) and multicenter (64%) in nature, with 45% using manufacturers’ registry data. The median duration of WCD use was three or more months in nine (82%) studies, and daily wear time ranged from a mean/median of 17 hours to 24 hours per day across included studies. Seven (64%) studies reported a mean/median daily wear time of more than 20 hours. This meta-analysis showed that the incidences of all-cause and SCD-related mortality among WCD patients were 1.4% (95% CI: 0.7%–2.4%) and 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1%–0.3%), respectively. VT/VF occurred in 2.6% (95% CI: 1.8%–3.5%) of patients. Across patients, 1.7% (95% CI: 1.4%–2.0%) received appropriate WCD treatment, corresponding to a rate of 9.1 patients/100 person-years (95% CI: 6.2–11.9 patients/100 person-years). Successful VT/VF termination following appropriate treatment occurred in 95.5% of patients (95% CI: 92.0%–98.0%) and the incidence of inappropriate treatment was infrequent (0.9%; 95% CI: 0.5%–1.4%). A moderate-to-high degree of statistical heterogeneity was observed in pooled analyses of mortality, VT/VF occurrence, and appropriate/inappropriate treatment (I(2) ≥ 41% for all). In conclusion, WCDs appear to be successful in terms of terminating VT/VF in patients with an elevated risk of SCD and are appropriate for use while long-term risk management strategies are being identified.