Dexrazoxane for preventing anthracycline cardiotoxicity in children with solid tumors.

This study attempted to assess the incidence and outcome of anthracycline cardiotoxicity and the role of dexrazoxane as a cardioprotectant in childhood solid tumors. The dexrazoxane group included 47 patients and the control group of historical cohort included 42. Dexrazoxane was given in the 10:1 ratio to doxorubicin.

Pulmonary hypertension in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Background And Objectives: With the increasing survival of preterm infants, pulmonary hypertension (PH) related to bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) has become an important complication. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics and outcome of PH in preterm infants with BPD and to identify the risk factors for PH.

Subjects And Methods: We reviewed the records of 116 preterm infants with BPD cared for at a single tertiary center between 2004 and 2008.

Pediatric emergency room presentation of congenital heart disease.

Background And Objectives: Only a few studies have specifically investigated the reasons for emergency room (ER) visits in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to identify the major reasons for ER presentation among patients with CHD that were acutely and seriously ill at a tertiary medical center in Korea.

Subjects And Methods: All 368 admissions of patients with CHD via the ER from 2003 to 2008 were enrolled.

Long-term outcomes after an arterial switch operation for simple complete transposition of the great arteries.

Background And Objectives: Although coronary artery obstruction, aortic insufficiency (AI), and pulmonary stenosis (PS) have been reported after arterial switch operation (ASO), limited long-term studies on ASO exist. Our study aimed to examine long-term outcomes after ASO for simple complete transposition of the great arteries (TGA).

Subjects And Methods: All 108 patients with simple complete TGA who underwent ASO at Seoul National University Children's Hospital between 1987 and 2004 were enrolled.

A case of pulmonary thromboembolism associated with hypereosinophilia in a child.

Pulmonary thromboembolism is a very rare event in children, but the mortality rate is reported to be approximately 10%. The majority of children with thromboemboli have multiple risk factors, such as a catheter-related thrombosis, an infection, and a congenital prothrombotic disorder. Hypereosinophilia is very rarely associated with pulmonary emboli in adults; however, this condition has not been reported in children.

Septal dyskinesia and global left ventricular dysfunction in pediatric Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with septal accessory pathway.

Introduction: Echocardiographic studies have shown that some patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome have myocardial dyskinesia in the segments precociously activated by an accessory pathway (AP). The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which the AP contributes to global left ventricular (LV) dysfunction.

Methods: Electrophysiological and echocardiographic data from 62 children with WPW (age at diagnosis = 5.

Development of bilateral diffuse pulmonary arteriovenous fistula after Fontan procedure: is there nonhepatic factor?

The cause of pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas after a cavopulmonary anastomosis is not clearly known, but the previous studies regarding their causes have been focused mainly on the hepatic factors. We report two unusual Fontan cases with multiple bilateral pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas. One of them died of progressive hypoxia, and the other underwent multiple coiling.

Cardiac dysfunction after renal transplantation; incomplete resolution in pediatric population.

Background: Long-term data of cardiac function after renal transplantation (RT) are limited, especially in children. Thus, we evaluated the status of left ventricular hypertrophy and various indices of left ventricular (LV) function in pediatric RT patients.

Methods: Blood pressure, serum biochemical profiles, electrocardiogram, and echocardiogram of 32 pediatric patients (mean age, 15.

Endothelial dysfunction and microvascular complications in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

We examined whether alterations in vascular endothelial function and early structural changes in atherosclerosis are associated with microvascular complications in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measurement were performed in 70 young adults (aged 19 to 35 yr), 48 with type 1 DM, and 22 normal controls. Patients with diabetes had a lower peak FMD response (7.

Decreased left ventricular torsion and untwisting in children with dilated cardiomyopathy.

The purpose of this study was to analyze left ventricular (LV) torsion and untwisting, and to evaluate the correlation between torsion and other components of LV contraction in children with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Segmental and global rotation, rotational rate (Vrot) were measured at three levels of LV using the two dimensional (2D) speckle tracking imaging (STI) method in 10 DCM patients (range 0.6-15 yr, median 6.

Kawasaki disease in Korea, 2003-2005.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence rate and epidemiologic patterns of Kawasaki disease in Korea for the 3-year-period, 2003-2005.

Methods: The questionnaire for an epidemiologic survey on Kawasaki disease was distributed to all 102 Korean hospitals that conduct pediatric residency programs, and obtained data were analyzed upon receipt.

Results: The 9662 patients of Kawasaki disease from 85 hospitals that responded (response rate, 83.

QT interval prolongation and ventricular fibrillation in childhood end-stage renal disease.

Ventricular arrhythmia is a major cause of death in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Corrected QT (QTc) interval prolongation, which is one of the predictors of ventricular arrhythmia, may be associated with ESRD. We report an 11-year-old boy who had ESRD with marked QTc interval prolongation and developed torsade de pointes with subsequent ventricular fibrillation during the induction of anesthesia.

Impaired vascular function in patients with Fontan circulation.

Background: This study was performed to evaluate the endothelial function in Fontan patients, and to investigate the associated factors which influence the endothelial function in these patients.

Methods: Flow mediated dilatation (FMD) and nitroglycerin induced dilatation (NG) of the brachial artery, and intima media thickness (IMT) of common carotid artery (CCA) were measured in nonselected Fontan patients (n=44, age 5 to 29 years, median 14 years, 18 females) by means of high-resolution ultrasound according to the standard protocols. The results were compared to age and sex matched controls (n=25, age 5 to 27 years, median 13 years, 10 females).

Pediatric radiofrequency catheter ablation: results of initial 100 consecutive cases including congenital heart anomalies.

Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) has recently become a management option for pediatric tachycardia. We reviewed the records of a total of 100 patients (aged 10 months to 19 yr) who had undergone RFCA, from March 2000 to June 2004. Types of arrhythmia (age, acute success rate) were as follows: atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia (AVRT, 9.

Epidemiologic picture of Kawasaki disease in Korea, 2000-2002.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence rate and epidemiologic patterns of Kawasaki disease in Korea for a 3 year period during 2000 to 2002.

Methods: An epidemiologic survey on Kawasaki disease was retrospectively performed. The questionnaire was sent to all 112 hospitals having pediatric residency programs, and obtained data were analyzed.

Late occurrence of adenosine-sensitive focal junctional tachycardia in complex congenital heart disease.

Background: Although supraventricular tachycardia in complex congenital heart disease (CHD) has been reported after surgical repair, its exact electrophysiologic identification has been limited to intraatrial reentrant tachycardia (IART). Moreover, junctional tachycardia (JT) has not previously been described as a cause of late postoperative arrhythmia.

Methods And Results: Since 1993, a total of 12 patients with congenital heart disease presented with paroxysmal focal JT.

A case of congenital junctional ectopic tachycardia: diagnosis and successful radiofrequency catheter ablation in infancy.

It is difficult to make a definitive diagnosis of congenital junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) in utero. We report a case in which congenial JET was suspected by fetal M-mode echocardiography. Fetal M-mode tracing of the atria and ventricle clearly showed a gradual acceleration of ventricular activity at the beginning of tachycardia, the warming-up sign of ectopic tachycardia, which was followed by simultaneous contractions of atrium and ventricle.

Twin AV node and induced supraventricular tachycardia in Fontan palliation patients.

Introduction: The coexistence of two distinct atrioventricular (AV) nodes has been described in congenital heart disease requiring Fontan type palliation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of twin AV node according to anatomical subgroups, and to determine its relation to tachycardia.

Methods: From 2001 to 2003, we performed an electrophysiologic (EP) study upon 52 consecutive patients who had undergone cardiac catheterization after Fontan completion.

Elastic properties of the ascending aorta in young children after successful coarctoplasty in infancy.

Background: Based on the hypothesis that vascular dysfunction in the ascending aorta can cause morbidity, we undertook this study on the elastic properties of ascending aorta and left ventricular (LV) function in young children who received coarctoplasty in early infancy.

Methods: Blood pressures (BP) in the right arm and ascending aortic internal diameters determined by M-mode ultrasound at rest and after exercise were measured in 25 patients (mean age, 6.4+/-3 years) and 22 control subjects (mean age, 5.

The usefulness of surface electrocardiogram as a prognostic predictor in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

We investigated the interrelations between surface electrocardiographic changes and clinical outcomes in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMP). 33 patients (19 boys, 14 girls) were classified into two groups; group I (15) who were in poor clinical status or dead; and group II (18) who showed good clinical status. Group I had larger LV dimensions compared to group II (Gr I vs.

Repair of transposition of the great arteries, ventricular septal defect and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.

Objectives: This study was undertaken to compare the outcomes of the Lecompte procedure and Rastelli repair in the transposition of the great arteries (TGA) with ventricular septal defect (VSD) and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) and to determine the risk factors associated with unfavorable events.

Methods: Over a 12-year period (April 1990-October 2002), 35 patients underwent complete repair for TGA, VSD, and LVOTO. Twenty-five patients (71%) underwent the Lecompte modification, and mean age and weight were 23.

Measurement of pH, electrolytes and electrophoretic studies of tear proteins in tears of patients with dacryoliths: a novel concept for dacryoliths.

Dacryolithiasis is one of the causes of acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction, although its origin is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in tear constituents between patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction with dacryoliths and those without dacryoliths. In a prospective case-control study, undiluted tears were collected from 30 eyes from 30 patients with partial acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction (PANDO) consisting of 17 PANDO patients with dacryoliths and 13 PANDO patients without dacryoliths.

The effect of beta adrenergic stimulation on QT and QTc interval in syncope children with or without coexisting ventricular arrhythmias.

We investigated the effect of beta-adrenergic stimulation on the heart rate and QT interval in syncope children with or without coexisting ventricular arrhythmias (VA). Of the 24 children who presented with syncope or presyncope and showed negative tilt test, 13 were classified into a group with VA and the remaining 11 without VA. The provocative test was performed in bolus infusion and continuous infusion.

Epidemiologic study of Kawasaki disease in Korea, 1997-1999: comparison with previous studies during 1991-1996.

We performed a retrospective epidemiologic survey on Kawasaki disease (KD) from 1997 to 1999 in Korea. We sent a questionnaire to 111 training hospitals, and summarized the data from 50 hospitals that responded. Data from a total of 3,862 cases were collected, which showed no difference in annual incidence and a seasonal predilection for summer.