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Foetal tachyarrhythmia treatment remains challenging even if the vast majority of cases have a favourable outcome
Author(s) -
EkmanJoelsson BrittMarie,
Mellander Mats,
Lagnefeldt Linda,
Sonesson SvenErik
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.13111
Subject(s) - medicine , flecainide , atrial flutter , sotalol , cardioversion , atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia , digoxin , supraventricular tachycardia , cardiology , tachycardia , atrial tachycardia , atrial fibrillation , prospective cohort study , catheter ablation , heart failure , accessory pathway
Aim The optimal treatment for foetal tachyarrhythmia remains controversial, and this study aimed to fill this gap in the knowledge. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all cases of foetal tachyarrhythmia diagnosed at two tertiary foetal cardiology centres in Sweden from 1990 to 2012. Results Of the 153 cases, 28% had atrial flutter ( AF ), 63% had atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia ( AVRT ) and 9% had other mechanisms. Hydrops was present in 45, less frequently in AF than in AVRT . Transplacental treatment was commenced in 99 and the rhythm normalised in two‐thirds, without any significant difference in cardioversion rates between AF and AVRT cases or nonhydropic and hydropic foetuses. Sotalol treatment had a higher cardioversion rate than digoxin in AVRT (63% versus 33%, p < 0.05) but not in AF (57% versus 56%). Two or more drugs were used in 38%. Neonatal survival was 100% in nonhydropic and 84% in hydropic cases. After a median of eight years, 11/134 patients still had arrhythmias, one had died due to arrhythmia and another had undergone cardiac transplantation. Conclusion Transplacental treatment was frequently insufficient to obtain cardioversion in nonhydropic and hydropic foetuses, but all nonhydropic cases had favourable outcomes. Larger prospective studies are needed to optimise the treatment of cases with hydrops.