Cardiology in the Young

BACKGROUND: Kawasaki disease is a systemic vascular disease with an unclear pathophysiology that primarily affects children under the age of five. Research on immune control in Kawasaki disease has been gaining attention. This study aims to apply a bibliometric analysis to examine the present and future directions of immune control in Kawasaki disease. METHODS: By utilizing the themes "Kawasaki disease," "Kawasaki syndrome," and "immune control," the Web of Science Core Collection database was searched for publications on immune control in Kawasaki disease...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the second most common cardiomyopathy affecting children and adolescents and is the main cause of sudden death of young athletes. The natural prognosis of children with severe hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy is not optimistic, and it is not uncommon for children with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy who do not respond to medication. Surgical treatment is often the only solution. Conventional surgical methods in the past include classic or modified extended Morrow operation, classic or modified Konno operation, and Ross-Konno operation...

OBJECTIVE: The safety of early post-operative cardiac catheterisation has been described following congenital heart surgery. Optimal timing of early post-operative cardiac catheterisation remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to describe the safety of early post-operative cardiac catheterisation and its impact on cardiac ICU and hospital length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and extracorporeal support. METHODS: This single-centre retrospective cohort study compared clinical and outcome variables between "early" early post-operative cardiac catheterisation (less than 72 hours after surgery) and "late" early post-operative cardiac catheterisation (greater than 72 hours after surgery) groups using Chi-squared, Student's t, and log-rank test (or appropriate nonparametric test)...

OBJECTIVES: Familial Mediterranean fever is an autosomal recessive autoinflammatory inherited disease. We aimed to evaluate cardiac involvement in children with familial Mediterranean fever during the attack-free period. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The prospective study included 75 familial Mediterranean fever patients during the attack-free period and 50 healthy children. Cardiac evaluation was performed using electrocardiography, 24-hour ambulatory Holter monitoring, and conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography...

OBJECTIVES: The clinical data of patients with subaortic stenosis who underwent surgical treatment in our centre in the past 12 years were reviewed. The short-term and long-term clinical outcomes were analyzed, and the long-term outcomes of different surgical methods for subaortic stenosis were compared to determine the optimal surgical treatment strategy for subaortic stenosis. METHODS: From December 2010 to December 2022, 90 patients undergoing surgical treatment for subaortic stenosis in our hospital were enrolled...

BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is an inflammatory syndrome related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 with a high risk of cardiovascular complications (vasoplegia, cardiac shock). We investigated the cardiac outcomes in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, focusing on the identification of predictors for late cardiac function impairment. METHODS: Clinical characteristics, conventional echocardiography (left ventricle ejection fraction, fractional shortening), 4-chamber left ventricular global longitudinal strain, and cardiac MRI of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children patients (n = 48) were collected during admission, 6 weeks, 6 months, >12-≤18 months, and >18-≤24 months post-onset...

OBJECTIVE: Head-up tilt test (HUTT) is an important tool in the diagnosis of pediatric vasovagal syncope. This research will explore the relationship between syncopal symptoms and HUTT modes in pediatric vasovagal syncope. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 2513 children aged 3-18 years, who were diagnosed with vasovagal syncope, from Jan. 2001 to Dec. 2021 due to unexplained syncope or pre-syncope. The average age was 11.76 ± 2...

BACKGROUND: Paediatric cardiac electrophysiologists are essential in CHD inpatient care, but their involvement is typically limited to consultation with individual patients. In our integrated heart centre, an electrophysiologist reviews all cardiac inpatient telemetry over the preceding 24 hours and participates in daily multidisciplinary morning report. This study investigates the impact of the strategy of consistent, formalised electrophysiologist presence at multidisciplinary morning report...

OBJECTIVES: Infants with congenital heart disease and increased pulmonary blood flow frequently suffer from feeding difficulties and growth failure. Providing expressed breast milk by spoon has been hypothesised to decrease energy expenditure in these infants as compared to breastfeeding. This study assessed the effect of supplemental feeding of expressed breast milk on weight gain in infants with unoperated congenital heart disease. METHOD: This was a prospective open-label randomised control trial...

Unilateral absence of intra-pericardial pulmonary artery is a rare congenital malformation. If untreated, it can lead to morbidity and mortality in adulthood. Early intervention and restoration of physiologic pulmonary blood flow is necessary. Transcatheter stenting as initial intervention has been rarely reported. We present transcatheter recanalisation and stenting of the obliterated ductus in two newborns with unilateral absence of intra-pericardial pulmonary artery with cross-sectional imaging, procedural details, angiography, and follow up to surgical repair...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIM: Malignant vasovagal syncope in children seriously affects their physical and mental health. Our study aimed to explore the efficacy of catheter ablation in ganglionated plexus with malignant vasovagal syncope children. CONCLUSION: Catheter ablation of ganglionated plexus was safe and effective in children with malignant vasovagal syncope and can be used as a treatment option for these children. METHODS: A total of 20 children diagnosed with malignant vasovagal syncope were enrolled in Beijing Children's Hospital, affiliated with Capital Medical University...

BACKGROUND: Invasive haemodynamics are often performed for initiating and guiding pulmonary artery hypertension therapy. Little is known about the predictive value of invasive haemodynamic indices for long-term outcomes in children with pulmonary artery hypertension. We aimed to evaluate invasive haemodynamic data to help predict outcomes in paediatric pulmonary artery hypertension. METHODS: Patients with pulmonary artery hypertension who underwent cardiac catheterisation (2006-2019) at a single centre were included...

OBJECTIVES: Atrioventricular valve regurgitation in patients with univentricular heart is a well-known risk factor for adverse outcomes and atrioventricular valve repair remains a particular surgical challenge. METHODS: We reviewed all surgical atrioventricular valve procedures in patients with univentricular heart and two separate atrioventricular valves who underwent surgical palliation. Endpoints of the study were reoperation-free survival and cumulative incidence of reoperation...

BACKGROUND: Perioperative immunisation administration surrounding congenital heart surgery is controversial. Delayed immunisation administration results in children being at risk of vaccine-preventable illnesses and is associated with failure to complete immunisation schedules. Among children with CHD, many of whom are medically fragile, vaccine-preventable illnesses can be devastating. Limited research shows perioperative immunisation may be safe and effective. METHODS: We surveyed Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative member centres and explored perioperative immunisation practices...

Arterial tortuosity syndrome is an extremely rare hereditary connective tissue disorder. We present a case of an incidentally diagnosed aneurysm of the aortic root and the ascending aorta caused by arterial tortuosity syndrome, which was confirmed genetically. The aneurysm was repaired surgically. One year after the procedure, there was no further dilation of the aorta or formation of new aneurysms.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

NT-proBNP is a peptide related to brain natriuretic peptide, a cardiac biomarker and a member of the natriuretic family of peptides. NT-proBNP has demonstrated its clinical utility in the assessment of a wide spectrum of cardiac manifestations. It is also considered a more precise diagnostic and prognostic cardiac biomarker than brain natriuretic peptide. With the appearance of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 virus and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic, diagnosis of heart implications began to pose an increasing struggle for the physician...

We report the case of a 9-year-old male with severe congenital pulmonary valve stenosis referred to our centre for percutaneous valvotomy. On admission, trans-thoracic echocardiogram confirmed a unicuspid pulmonary valve with a peak/mean pulmonary valve gradient of 91/53 mmHg and a pulmonary annulus of 13.8 mm (-0.8 Z Score). It also showed an enlarged RV (RV/LV ratio 0,9). During cardiac catheterisation, an additional atrial septal defect (secundum) with significant left to right shunt (Qp/Qs > 2) was diagnosed, which was not amenable to percutaneous closure...

BACKGROUND: The increased survival rate among individuals with CHD has sparked interest in their transition to adult healthcare. Although there is a general agreement on the importance of transition interventions, the empirical evidence supporting them is insufficient. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of transition interventions for adult healthcare in adolescents and young adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: A literature search was conducted for studies comparing the quantitative effects of transition interventions with control groups, published up to March 15, 2023, in major databases (CENTRAL, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, KISS, and KMbase), major clinical trial registries, academic journal sites related to the topic, and grey literature databases...