Flecainide improves cardiac synchronization in an early infant with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with left

Naofumi F Sumitomo1, Naoya Fukushima2, Masaru Miura3

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Keio University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Insights

Flecainide effectively treated Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPWS) with left ventricular dyssynchrony (LVD) in an infant. This pharmacological approach offers a safe alternative to catheter ablation for pediatric WPWS patients when body weight is insufficient.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Pediatric Electrophysiology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Pharmacological resynchronization for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPWS) with left ventricular dyssynchrony (LVD) in children remains an area needing established therapies.
  • A 3-month-old infant presented with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and subsequent diagnosis of ventricular pre-excitation and LVD.

Observation:

  • Initial treatment with propranolol failed to prevent SVT recurrence.
  • Flecainide was initiated due to insufficient body weight for catheter ablation.
  • Increased flecainide dosage (50 mg/m²/day) resolved pre-excitation and improved LVD, correlating with serum flecainide levels.

Findings:

  • Flecainide demonstrated efficacy in resolving pre-excitation and improving LVD in an infant with WPWS.
  • The resolution of cardiac abnormalities was directly dependent on flecainide serum concentration.

Implications:

  • Flecainide represents a potential safe and effective pharmacological resynchronization therapy for pediatric patients with LVD-WPWS.
  • This approach is particularly valuable for infants and young children who are not candidates for catheter ablation due to body weight limitations.

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