Paroxysmal Tachycardia and Its Treatment in Young Infants

The following 9 case reports are presented to call attention to the clinical features of paroxysmal tachycardia as it occurs in infants less than 1 year of age. This study has been limited to this age group because in older children paroxysmal tachycardia is more readily recognized, has been described more often and seems to be similar to the form of the disorder that occurs in adults in that it sometimes appears in short attacks of no consequence and occasionally continues or recurs in persistent fashion and is more or less resistant to the various forms of treatment used. On the other hand, in young infants, especially during the early weeks of life, there appears to be a somewhat different and distinctive clinical entity, readily diagnosed if kept in mind, which responds satisfactorily to proper treatment. Failure to detect paroxysmal tachycardia in the young infant may lead to such faulty