No cases of long QT syndrome were misdiagnosed as breath-holding spells in children, indicating a low risk of misdiagnosis in this age group.
The risk of misdiagnosing long QT syndrome as breath-holding spells in children is very low, suggesting that routine ECGs may not be warranted for all suspected breath-holding spells, though caution is advised for infants under 3 months old.
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
ABSTRACT Aim An electrocardiogram is commonly recommended in breath‐holding spell management, mainly to rule out long QT syndrome. This retrospective study investigated the risk of long QT syndrome being misdiagnosed as breath‐holding spells in a paediatric population in southern Sweden. Methods Data on patient characteristics and diagnostic findings were reviewed for patients aged 24 months old at suspicion of long QT syndrome, and 10 were < 3 months old. No patient exhibited symptoms directly attributable to long QT syndrome, and no diagnosis of long QT syndrome was delayed due to suspicion of or misdiagnosis as breath‐holding spells. Conclusions The number of symptomatic long QT syndrome cases overlapping with the presentation of breath‐holding spells is likely small. The findings of this study suggest that children < 3 months old with suspected breath‐holding spells should undergo an electrocardiogram.
Schmidt et al. (Thu,) reported a other. No cases of long QT syndrome were misdiagnosed as breath-holding spells in children, indicating a low risk of misdiagnosis in this age group.