Ventricular tachycardia ablation in children.

INTRODUCTION: The ablation of ventricular tachycardia, including premature ventricular contractions, is an approved, albeit infrequent procedure in pediatric patients. Data are scarce regarding the outcomes of this procedure. The purpose of this study was to share a high-volume center experience and patient outcomes for catheter ablation of ventricular ectopy and ventricular tachycardia in pediatric population.

METHODS: Data were retrieved from the institutional data bank. Outcomes over time were evaluated, and procedural details were compared.

RESULTS: One hundred sixteen procedures, including 112 ablations, were performed from July 2009 through May 2021 at Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center, Tehran, Iran. Ablation was not performed in 4 patients (3.4%) because of the high-risk nature of the substrates. Of the 112 ablations, 99 (88.4%) were successful. One patient died because of a coronary complication. No significant differences were observed in early ablation results in relation to patients' age, sex, cardiac anatomy, and ablation substrates (P > 0.05). Follow-up records were available in 80 patients, 13 of whom (16.3%) experienced recurrence. During the long-term follow-up, no variables were statistically different between patients with or without recurrences of the arrhythmias.

CONCLUSION: The overall success rate of pediatric ventricular arrhythmia ablation is favorable. We found no significant predictor for the procedural success rate concerning acute and late outcomes. Larger multicenter studies are needed to elucidate the predictors and outcomes of the procedure.