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Effect of pseudoephedrine on cardiac rhythm of children with rhinitis
Meki Bilici1, Sadi Turkay, Ayse Esra Yılmaz
1Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Fatih University, Alparslan Turkes Caddesi No: 57, 06510 Ankara, Turkey. drmekibilici@hotmail.com
Insights
Pseudoephedrine, used for rhinitis in children, did not significantly alter heart rhythm or heart rate variability. This study indicates therapeutic doses are safe for pediatric use in children without other health issues.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Pharmacology
- Allergy and Immunology
Background:
- Rhinitis is a common condition in children.
- Pseudoephedrine is frequently used to manage rhinitis symptoms.
- Concerns exist regarding the cardiac effects of pseudoephedrine in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of pseudoephedrine on cardiac rhythm in children with rhinitis.
- To assess potential changes in heart rate variability (HRV) parameters.
- To determine the safety of therapeutic pseudoephedrine doses in pediatric rhinitis management.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 25 children diagnosed with rhinitis was enrolled.
- 24-hour Holter monitoring was performed before and on the fourth day of pseudoephedrine treatment.
- Time-dependent and frequency-dependent HRV parameters were analyzed.
Main Results:
- No significant changes in heart rate or HRV parameters were observed during pseudoephedrine treatment.
- One patient showed rare supraventricular extrasystoles before treatment, which resolved.
- Another patient had two ventricular extrasystoles on day four; no other arrhythmias were detected.
Conclusions:
- Therapeutic doses of pseudoephedrine do not appear to increase dysrhythmia risk in children with rhinitis.
- Pseudoephedrine can be considered safe for managing rhinitis in children without other significant health problems.
- Further research may explore long-term effects or specific pediatric subgroups.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of pseudoephedrine on heart rhythm of children with rhinitis.
Methods:
The study included 25 children diagnosed with rhinitis from March 2009 through February 2010 in the Department of Pediatrics. Holter records were obtained for 24 h before and at the fourth day of pseudoephedrine treatments.
Results:
Study group consisted of 18 girls (72%) and 7 boys (28%) with a mean age of 8.7 ± 3.4 (4-17.9 years). Common complaints of the patients were rhinorrhea (100%), cough (68%) fatigue (48%), sore throat (36%), and headache (28%). Of the 25 patients whose Holter recordings were evaluated, rare supraventricular extrasystoles were observed in one prior to the administration of pseudoephedrine, which were not repeated on this patient's follow-up recording on day four. There were two ventricular extrasystoles in the day four Holter recording of another patient. None of the patients complained of chest pain or palpitation. There were no observations of supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. No statistical differences could be found (p > 0.05) in the values before treatment and those on day four of treatment of either the time-dependent Heart rate variability (HRV) parameters SDNN, SDNN index, SDANN and RMSSD, or the frequency-dependent parameters (TP, HF, LF). No statistical difference could be determined between heart rate values of the patients before treatment and those on day four of treatment (p > 0.05).
Conclusions:
This study has established that therapeutic doses of pseudoephedrine do not cause an additional dysrhythmia risk for children with no health problem except rhinitis.
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