Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery
Vol.26 No.4 2010 (332-337)
Junji Fukuhara, Naokata Sumitomo, Takahiro Nakamura, Rie Ichikawa, Masaharu Matsumura, Osamu Abe, Michio Miyashita, Kazuo Taniguchi, Hiroshi Kanamaru, Mamoru Ayusawa, Kensuke Karasawa, and Hideo Mugishima
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Abstract
Background and Purpose: Atrial flutter (AFL) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are relatively rare arrhythmias in children and adolescents, especially in patients without heart disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics in pediatric patients with clinically documented (C) AF and AFL, or with AF and AFL that were induced by programmed atrial stimulation (S).
Subjects and Methods: Organic heart disease was excluded by physical finding, chest X ray, and echocardiogram. Fifty patients with AF and AFL at a mean age of 11.7±4.7 years were included in this study. We compared characteristics between C-AF and C-AFL (N=11) and S-AF and S-AFL (N=39).
Results: In these subjects, AFL is more common than AF in both the C group and S group (91%, 85%). C-AF was noted only in two patients. S-AF was noted in eighteen patients (46%). The incidences of S-AF and S-AFL decreased after ablation of basal arrhythmia. Clinically, S-AF, and S-AFL have not recurred during the follow-up period.
Conclusions: Although the incidences of AF and AFL induced by programmed stimulation were higher than expected, these arrhythmias have not recurred during the follow-up period. Therefore, S-AF and S-AFL may not require catheter ablation in children and adolescents.