Patient characteristics
Between July 2013 and May 2022, a total of 102 patients (mean age 67.2±13 years, 32.4% female) underwent CIED extraction with either total capsulectomy (n=54) or CHG (n=48) scrubbing performed during the procedure. The mean follow-up was 638 days. The most frequently removed devices were single or dual-chamber pacemakers (n=44, 43.1%), cardiac resynchronization therapy and defibrillator devices (n=31, 30.4%); followed by implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (n=27, 26.5%). The extraction cause was equally distributed between bacteremia/infective endocarditis (50%) and device extrusion/pocket infection (50%), with no statistically significant differences between both groups. No significant differences in baseline characteristics between groups were found (Table 1 ). Bacteria were isolated from blood, pocket, or lead tip cultures in 67.6% of cases. Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA, respectively), coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CoNS), and Streptococcus spp. were the most frequently found causative organisms. Complete procedural success was achieved in 84 patients (94.4%), and clinical success was achieved in 86 patients (96.6%) with no significant differences between groups. The length of stay was similar in the capsulectomy vs. CHG group (18.5±20.2days vs. 23.7±26.4 respectively, p=0.262). Fifty-six patients (54.9%) had a new device implanted, with no significant differences in the percentage of patients having a new implant between groups (53.7% vs. 56.3% in the capsulectomy vs. CHG, p=0.844). The mean for the reimplant procedure was 125.3±241.6 days in the capsulectomy group vs. 38.7±78.3 days in the CHG group (p=0.076); in the capsulectomy group 10 patients (34.5%) and 14 patients (51.9%) in the CHG had a new device implanted within a week from the extraction (p = 0.28). Regarding the type of placed device, 37.9% of patients in the capsulectomy group had a pacemaker (either single or dual chamber, or leadless), compared to 66.7% of patients in the CHG group. In the remaining patients in each group, the implanted device was related to underlying heart failure (i.e., an ICD or a CRT device). Procedural characteristics are shown presented in Table 2 .