Clinical Profile of Cardiac Arrhythmias in Children Attending the Out Patient Department of a Tertiary Paediatric Care Centre in Chennai

INTRODUCTION: The presentation of symptoms of paediatric arrhythmias vary depending on the age and underlying heart disease. Physical examination of children with important arrhythmias may be entirely normal. AIM: Aim is to study the characteristics of cardiac arrhythmias in paediatric patients in a tertiary paediatric care centre in Chennai, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants (n=60) were from birth to 12 years of age. Patients with sinus arrhythmias, sinus tachycardia and sinus bradycardia were excluded. Proportions of various parameters of interest like clinical features, age and sex distribution and underlying heart disease of children presenting with cardiac arrhythmias were arrived. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16.0. RESULTS: Ventricular ectopics were the most common type of arrhythmias observed in the present study followed by Sinus Node Dysfunction (SND). The most common type of SND was sino atrial arrest. Supra ventricular tachycardia was the most frequently sustained tachyarrhythmia in the present study. An increased association of WPW (Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome) with specific congenital cardiac defects was noted. CONCLUSION: Cardiac arrhythmias in children can present at anytime from fetal life to adolescence and their recognition requires high index of suspicion. While majority of children with arrhythmias have structurally normal heart, they are frequently encountered in children with underlying heart disease. Treatment of paediatric arrhythmias should be guided by the severity of the patient, the structure and function of the heart.