Home use of a compact, 12‑lead ECG recording system for newborns.

Background: An easy-to-operate ECG recorder should be useful for newborn screening for heart conditions, by health care workers - or parents. We developed a one-piece electrode strip and a compact, 12‑lead ECG recorder for newborns.

Method: We enrolled 2582 newborns in a trial to assess abilities of parents to record a 12‑lead ECG on their infants (2-4 weeks-old).

Comparison of formulas for calculation of the corrected QT interval in infants and young children.

Objective: To compare 4 heart rate correction formulas for calculation of the rate corrected QT (QTc) interval among infants and young children.

Study Design: R-R and QT intervals were measured from digital electrocardiograms. QTc were calculated with the Bazett, Fridericia, Hodges, and Framingham formulas.

Genetic variants for long QT syndrome among infants and children from a statewide newborn hearing screening program cohort.

Objectives: Autosomal recessive long QT syndrome (LQTS), or Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome (JLNS), can be associated with sensorineural hearing loss. We aimed to explore newborn hearing screening combined with electrocardiograms (ECGs) for early JLNS detection.

Study Design: In California, we conducted statewide, prospective ECG screening of children ≤ 6 years of age with unilateral or bilateral, severe or profound, sensorineural or mixed hearing loss.

B-type natriuretic peptide in children after cardiac transplantation.

Background: The normal B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration and the significance of increased BNP concentration in children after orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) remain unknown. We sought to determine plasma BNP concentrations in relation to post-transplant time and to explore factors associated with increased BNP in pediatric OHT recipients.

Methods: We obtained plasma BNP concentrations in 44 pediatric patients at 1 to 171 months after OHT.

Outcome of patients with double-inlet left ventricle or tricuspid atresia with transposed great arteries.

Objectives: We sought to determine the long-term outcomes and risk factors for mortality in patients with double-inlet left ventricle (DILV) or tricuspid atresia with transposed great arteries (TA-TGA).

Background: Patients with DILV or TA-TGA are at risk of systemic outflow obstruction and a poor outcome. The impact of various management strategies on the long-term outcomes of these patients remains unknown.

Usefulness of B-type natriuretic peptide as a noninvasive screening tool for cardiac allograft pathology in pediatric heart transplant recipients.

We examined the utility of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in the evaluation of pediatric orthotopic heart transplant recipients for allograft pathology by measuring the serum BNP levels at the time of either screening echocardiography and biopsy, or at the time of clinical rejection. There was a significant difference (p <0.0001) in the BNP levels in 37 patients in the group with evidence of pathology compared with those without evidence.

Postoperative arrhythmia.

Postoperative arrhythmia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease. Rhythm disturbances that may be well tolerated in a normal heart often cause hemodynamic instability when they occur in the immediate postoperative period. In the face of pre-existing myocardial dysfunction resulting from preoperative pressure or volume overload, patients with congenital heart conditions are especially vulnerable to rhythm disturbances after cardiac surgery.

Outcome of staged surgical approach to neonates with single left ventricle and moderate size bulboventricular foramen.

Neonates with double-inlet left ventricle or tricuspid atresia with transposed great arteries and a bulboventricular foramen (BVF) area <2 cm(2)/m(2) develop BVF obstruction. This study examined the outcome of neonates with BVF area between 1 and 2 cm(2)/m(2) whose BVF was bypassed after the neonatal period. We reviewed 29 neonates with double-inlet left ventricles (n = 18) or tricuspid atresia (n = 11) and transposed great arteries.