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QT Dispersion predicting acute rheumatic carditis

Maria I Remigio de Aguiar1, Lurildo C Ribeiro Saraiva, Cleusa L Santos

  • 1Department of Cardiovascular Science, Clinical Hospital, Pernambuco Federal University, Recife-Pernambuco, Brazil. miremigio@yahoo.com.br

Cardiology in the Young
|June 19, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Children with rheumatic carditis show increased QT dispersion, a potential indicator for cardiac involvement. This finding may aid in diagnosing and managing rheumatic fever complications.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Electrophysiology
  • Rheumatic Diseases

Background:

  • Rheumatic carditis, a complication of rheumatic fever, affects heart valves.
  • Assessing cardiac involvement in children with rheumatic fever is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate QT dispersion on the surface electrocardiogram in children diagnosed with rheumatic carditis.
  • To determine if QT dispersion can serve as a diagnostic marker for acute rheumatic carditis.

Main Methods:

  • Quantitative analysis of QT dispersion in 33 children with acute rheumatic carditis.
  • Comparison with a control group of 33 healthy children.
  • Electrocardiogram and echocardiogram (echo Doppler cardiogram) performed within 48-72 hours of hospitalization.

Main Results:

  • Children with rheumatic carditis exhibited significantly greater QT dispersion compared to healthy controls.
  • A trend of increased QT dispersion was observed with greater valvar lesion severity.
  • A QT dispersion cutoff of >40 milliseconds demonstrated 63.6% sensitivity and 93.9% specificity for predicting acute rheumatic carditis.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated QT dispersion in children with rheumatic fever suggests cardiac involvement.
  • QT dispersion may represent a novel parameter for diagnosing and guiding treatment decisions in rheumatic carditis.
Abstract

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