QT dispersion in children with ventricular arrhythmia and a structurally normal heart

In adults, increased QT dispersion has been shown to predict arrhythmic ris k as well as risk of sudden death in several clinical settings. It is not k nown whether or not QT dispersion is increased in children with idiopathic ventricular arrhythmia. We studied three groups of children: (1) 20 patient s with idiopathic VT (aged 3-18 years; mean 11.2 years); (2) 30 patients wi th benign PVCs (aged 1-20 years; mean 10.5 years); and (3) 30 control subje cts (aged 4-17 years; mean 12 years). Standard ECGs were reviewed and the d ispersion of both QT and JT intervals was compared. No patient had structur al heart disease or long QT syndrome. The QT and QT, dispersion (QT Delta, QT(c)Delta) among the three groups did nor differ: QT(c)Delta of the VT gro up was 70 ms +/- 30 ms, QT(c)Delta of PVC patients was 60 ms +/- 30 ms, and the QT(c)Delta of the control group was 65 ms +/- 30 ms. The JT(c)Delta am ong the three groups did not differ as well: JT(c)Delta of the VT group tl as 70 ms +/- 30 ms, the JT(c)Delta of the PVC group was 60 msec +/- 25 msec , and the JT(c)Delta of the control group was 70 ms +/- 30 ms. We conclude that QT and JT dispersion are not significantly altered in children with id iopathic IT or benign PVCs when compared to control subjects. QT dispersion is nor a reliable marker for arrhythmic risk in children with idiopathic v entricular arrhythmias and structurally normal hearts.