Pacemaker Explantation in Patients With Lyme Carditis

In cases where Lyme disease was not diagnosed early enough and a pacemaker needed to be implanted in order for a patient's heart to maintain normal atrioventricular (AV) node conduction in the face of Lyme carditis, this paper by Queen's University researchers concludes that the pacemaker can be safely removed following antibiotic treatment so long as the AV node has returned to normal function. Most of the time conduction issues resolve within ten days of treatment although temporary disruptions can last as long as 42 days. This study gives the details of two Canadian cases where pacemakers were successfully removed.