Safety, Efficacy, and Dose Protocol of Metoprolol for Heart Rate Reduction in Pediatric Outpatients Undergoing Cardiac CT Angiography.

Background: Image quality and radiation dose are optimized with a slow, steady heart rate (HR) when imaging the coronary arteries during cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The safety, efficacy, and protocol for HR reduction with beta blocker medication is not well described in a pediatric patient population.

Objective: Provide a safe and efficient metoprolol dose protocol to be used in pediatric outpatients undergoing CCTA.

Left Ventricular Mass Quantification by Two-Dimensional Echocardiography in a Pediatric Population: Correlation with Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Quantification of left ventricular (LV) mass by echocardiography has not been validated against the gold standard of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to compare LV mass by two-dimensional and conventional M-mode echocardiography versus CMR in children. Consecutive CMR studies were paired with echocardiograms and retrospectively analyzed in children age ≤ 16 years (3 days old to 16 years old).