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To the Editor: In reading the study by Dr Curtis and colleagues¹ and the associated Editorial by Dr Coromilas,² I was particularly interested in the observation that electrophysiologists were more likely than nonelectrophysiologist cardiologists, thoracic surgeons, or other specialists to implant an ICD capable of providing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-D) when the patient was eligible for this therapy. However, I wondered whether electrophysiologists were also more likely than these specialists to implant a CRT-D device when the patient was not eligible for this therapy.

Therefore, for each clinician group, I subtracted the number of patients eligible for a CRT-D device from the total to get the number of patients not eligible for CRT-D device. Similarly, I subtracted the number of CRT-D devices placed in eligible patients from the total CRT-D devices to get the number of CRT-D devices placed in patients not eligible for this therapy. The proportion of persons . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Jeff Whittle, MD, MPH
jeffrey.whittle@va.gov
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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RELATED ARTICLE

Association of Physician Certification and Outcomes Among Patients Receiving an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator
Jeptha P. Curtis, Jeffrey J. Luebbert, Yongfei Wang, Saif S. Rathore, Jersey Chen, Paul A. Heidenreich, Stephen C. Hammill, Rachel I. Lampert, and Harlan M. Krumholz
JAMA. 2009;301(16):1661-1670.
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Physician Certification and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators
Jalal K. Ghali and Theodore L. Schreiber
JAMA. 2009;302(9):941.
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Physician Certification and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators
Scott D. Lick, Andras C. Kollar, and Vincent R. Conti
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Physician Certification and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators—Reply
Jeptha P. Curtis, Jeffrey Luebbert, and Harlan M. Krumholz
JAMA. 2009;302(9):942-943.
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Physician Certification and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators—Reply
James Coromilas
JAMA. 2009;302(9):943.
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