Asymptomatic ventricular pre-excitation in children

This retrospective study was planned for a good risk assessment of asymptomatic patients affected by ventricular pre-excitation.

From 1985 to 2007, 124 patients with an atrioventricular pathway (electrocardiographic signs of ventricular pre-excitation) were admitted to our cardiology division. The average age was 7 years (range 1 month to 18 years). The mean follow-up period in the whole population of patients was 4.2 years (range 1-13 years). Four patients were lost during the follow-up. During this period, all patients remained in good health. In all of them, we performed a Holter evaluation every year. An intermittent pathway was detected in 18 patients (15%), and four of them (3.4%) showed a supraventricular tachycardia even though they were asymptomatic patients. An ergometric test was performed in 76 asymptomatic patients; 16 children (21%) showed a total abrupt vanishing of delta wave. A transoesophageal electrophysiological evaluation was performed in 14 patients.

According to our data, asymptomatic Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in children has a good outcome during a short-term (4 years) follow-up. The usefulness of electrophysiological evaluation (in particular its predictive value) is uncertain.