Successful treatment of pallid breath-holding spells with fluoxetine

Pallid breath-holding (PBH) is a childhood condition that presents with recurrent syncope. Although typically benign, severe cases can lead to asystole and anoxic seizures. Previous studies have advocated pacemaker placement to abbreviate symptoms. This was a retrospective study of patients treated with fluoxetine for PBH spells. Clinical response, side effects and avoidance of pacemaker implantation were reviewed in six patients (12-60 months) treated with fluoxetine for PBH. Patients were referred because of concern of arrhythmia and failed medical treatment strategies. Two patients had previously implanted loop recorders, 5 patients had documented episodes of asystole, and 2 patients had generalized seizures. Fluoxetine resulted in alleviation of syncope in 5 of 6 patients. Time to symptomatic improvement symptoms ranged from 2 days to 1 month (median, 2 weeks). Median duration of treatment with fluoxetine was 12 months (12-24 months). One patient demonstrated no improvement and had a pacemaker implanted. There were no reported side effects to fluoxetine. Fluoxetine can be used to treat childhood PBH spells and may obviate the need for permanent pacing in a significant subset of this population. Considering its safe side-effect profile it is a worthwhile first-line agent to treat this disorder.