High Sensitivity C Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) in Adolescent and Young Adult Patients with History of Kawasaki Disease.

Background: For children with a history of Kawasaki disease (KD), low grade inflammation was generally reported to be associated with persistent coronary artery lesions (CAL). However, this association has not been clearly demonstrated to hold true in KD adolescents and young adults (10-25 years of age).

Methods: We enrolled 104 subjects into our study, who were separated into the following 3 groups and controls: 1): 22 KD patients with angiography-confirmed CAL which persisted for an average of 12.

Coexisting mutations/polymorphisms of the long QT syndrome genes in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot are associated with the risks of life-threatening events.

Coexisting long QT gene mutations/polymorphisms in Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) patients may aggravate the repolarization abnormality from cardiac repair. We investigated the impact of these genes on the risk of life-threatening events. Genetic variants of the three common long QT genes were identified from patients with repaired TOF.

Results of echocardiographic screening in 10,000 newborns.

Background: In response to increasing demand for a more sophisticated newborn baby health examination, we designed and performed echocardiographic screenings on a voluntary and self-paid basis.

Methods: From 1997 to 2005, 10,000 newborn babies had received the echocardiographic examination on the next day after birth. The echocardiographic examinations were performed by a single sonographer.

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia in a child.

Ventricular tachycardia occurring in apparently normal heart is rare in children. A 9-year-old boy presented with recurrent palpitations and syncope was found to have idiopathic ventricular tachycardia with a right bundle branch block morphology and left axis deviation. Pace mapping and activation mapping were used to localize the site of ventricular tachycardia origin.

Coronary arteriovenous fistula in pediatric patients: a 17-year institutional experience.

Background And Purpose: Coronary arteriovenous fistula (CAVF) is a rare congenital anomaly in pediatric patients. Its clinical manifestations vary considerably and its long-term outcome is not fully understood. This study sought to determine the natural history and long-term outcome in CAVF patients treated over a 17-year period at Cathay General Hospital in Taipei.