HIGH-RESOLUTION ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHY IN CH ILDREN WITH VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIAS AND ROMANO-WARD-SYNDROME

Twenty three patients (mean age 11+/-4 years) with severe cardiac rhyt hm disturbances (11 with attacks of idiopathic ventricular tachycardia and 12 with Romano-Ward long QT syndrome) were studied. High resoluti on electrocardiography was one of methods of a complex investigation. It was shown that for conventionally healthy children some characteris tics of averaged ECG signal were age-dependent. Basing on these data a nd on parameters of high-resolution ECG in patients with ventricular t achycardia criteria of left ventricular late potentials for children i ncluded in the study were elaborated. According to these criteria late ventricular potentials were present in 7 patients (70%) with ventricu lar tachycardia and in 8 patients (67%) with Romano-Ward syndrome. Sen sitivity of the method was 64% in patients with ventricular tachycardi a and 66% in patients with Romano-Ward syndrome. Specificity was 92% i n both groups. Comparison of patients with healthy children demonstrat ed high informative power of presence of ventricular late potentials f or prediction of risk of development of life threatening arrhythmia (8 5,4 and 85,7% in patients with ventricular tachycardia and Romano-Ward syndrome, respectively). The study showed that high resolution electr ocardiography should be used for detection of children with high risk of life threatening arrhythmia for instance in complex study of childr en with syncope of unknown origin. Further accumulation of date and in vestigation of relationship of parameters of high resolution ECG with severity of rhythm disturbances as well as determination of normal cha racteristics of high resolution ECG in children is necessary.