Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) with or without structural heart disease is uncommon but well-recognized clinically in children. With this retrospective study, we collected the data from the in-hospital pediatric patients of VT with catheter ablation therapy. The purpose of this study is to assess the acute results and the long-term outcome of catheter ablation in pediatric patients of VT in our single pediatric center.
Methods: This study included 53 consecutive children (male/female = 33/20, mean age = 8.2 ± 3.4 years, mean bodyweight = 32.6 ± 13.7 kg). All patients underwent electrophysiological study with an attempt of catheter ablation for clinical monomorphic VT. Acute and long-term success rate of catheter ablation for the treatment of VT were compared between right and left VT as well as fascicular VT (FVT) and nonfascicular VT.
Results: There were 53 idiopathic VT forms found in the children, including FVT (n = 32), outflow tract VT (n = 15), papillary muscle VT (n = 5), and bundle branch reentry VT (n = 1). Acute success of catheter ablations for VT was achieved in 57 of all the 59 ablation procedures (97%) with VT recurrence occurred in six of 53 patients (11%). During a mean follow-up period of 29.2 ± 21.7 months (range 1-76 months) after hospital discharge, ablations in nonfascicular VT were as successful as FVT. There was no significant difference in the success rate between the right and left VT.
Conclusion: Catheter ablation is an effective treatment for idiopathic VT in children. The acute and long-term success rates of catheter ablation for idiopathic VT in pediatric patients with normal heart structure are satisfying.
Keywords: catheter ablation; electrophysiology; fascicular ventricle tachycardia; pediatrics; ventricular tachycardia.
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.