Version 1
: Received: 17 August 2024 / Approved: 18 August 2024 / Online: 20 August 2024 (05:13:11 CEST)
How to cite:
Constante, A. D.; Suarez, J.; Lourenço, G.; Portugal, G.; Cunha, P. S.; Oliveira, M. M.; Trigo, C.; Pinto, F. F.; Laranjo, S. Prevalence, Management, and Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation in Paediatric Patients: Insights from a Tertiary Cardiology Centre. Preprints2024, 2024081276. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1276.v1
Constante, A. D.; Suarez, J.; Lourenço, G.; Portugal, G.; Cunha, P. S.; Oliveira, M. M.; Trigo, C.; Pinto, F. F.; Laranjo, S. Prevalence, Management, and Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation in Paediatric Patients: Insights from a Tertiary Cardiology Centre. Preprints 2024, 2024081276. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1276.v1
Constante, A. D.; Suarez, J.; Lourenço, G.; Portugal, G.; Cunha, P. S.; Oliveira, M. M.; Trigo, C.; Pinto, F. F.; Laranjo, S. Prevalence, Management, and Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation in Paediatric Patients: Insights from a Tertiary Cardiology Centre. Preprints2024, 2024081276. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1276.v1
APA Style
Constante, A. D., Suarez, J., Lourenço, G., Portugal, G., Cunha, P. S., Oliveira, M. M., Trigo, C., Pinto, F. F., & Laranjo, S. (2024). Prevalence, Management, and Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation in Paediatric Patients: Insights from a Tertiary Cardiology Centre. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1276.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Constante, A. D., Fátima F. Pinto and Sérgio Laranjo. 2024 "Prevalence, Management, and Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation in Paediatric Patients: Insights from a Tertiary Cardiology Centre" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.1276.v1
Abstract
Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasingly recognised in paediatric patients and presents unique management challenges. We aimed to investigate the prevalence, management strategies, and outcomes of AF in this population.
Methods: This retrospective analysis was conducted at a tertiary paediatric cardiology centre, including patients aged ≤18 years who were diagnosed with AF between January 2015 and December 2023. Demographic details, clinical manifestations, treatments, and outcomes were also analysed. Patients with documented AF episodes were in-cluded. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the treatment efficacy, recurrence, and complications.
Results: The study included 36 patients (mean age, 15 years; 58% male). Of these, 52.8% had acquired heart disease, 16.7% had congenital anomalies, and 16.7% had lone AF. The initial treatment involved electrical cardioversion (53.3%) and pharmacological conversion with amiodarone (46.7%). Over 80% of the patients received rhythm control therapy, and 63.9% were placed on oral anticoagulation, primarily for rheumatic and congenital heart diseases. The success rate of rhythm control was 50% with an AF recurrence rate of 3.8%. Ischaemic stroke was the most common complication (n=3) occurring in patients with underlying heart disease.
Conclusion: AF in paediatric patients is predominantly associated with rheumatic and congenital heart diseases, although a notable proportion of patients present with lone AF. Despite the high intervention and antiarrhythmic therapy rates, neurological complications, particularly in those with underlying heart disease, remain a significant concern. These findings highlight the need for further com-prehensive studies to understand better the aetiology, risk factors, and management of paediatric AF.
Medicine and Pharmacology, Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
