Transvenous Pacing Wires

[Defibn', RN, EMT-P]

Do CRNAs place transvenous pacing wires?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I've only seen them placed by a cardiologist. Never by a CRNA.

[offlabel]

I've done it one time with the cardiologist right there before we left the OR for the cath lab for a permanent pacemaker. If you can put in an IJ sheath and float a PA catheter, you can float a transvenous pacer...not rocket science at all but it is very unusual for a CRNA to be in the position to need to do one. And you need to understand how to use an external pace maker. Very few anesthesiologists know how to use this stuff let alone general practice CRNA's. It just isn't very common.

I guess I should qualify that there are some external pacemakers whose use is well understood by anyone that does anesthesia...what I was referring to were the more complex types wherein the operator needs to dial in things like choice of pacing mode, sensitivity, output as opposed to simply output and rate on the "dummy boxes". Almost anyone can throw in a pacing catheter and dial in VOO without too much trouble if they received training on it.