Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T11:49:30.111Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy in children and adolescents with drug-refractory arrhythmia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2016

Elena Vasichkina
Affiliation:
Cardiology Department, Almazov Federal Medical Research Center; St. Petersburg, Russia
Hermine Poghosyan*
Affiliation:
Cardiology Department, Astghik Medical Center, Yerevan, Armenia
Lubov Mitrofanova
Affiliation:
Cardiology Department, Almazov Federal Medical Research Center; St. Petersburg, Russia
Roman Tatarsky
Affiliation:
Cardiology Department, Almazov Federal Medical Research Center; St. Petersburg, Russia
Dmitry Lebedev
Affiliation:
Cardiology Department, Almazov Federal Medical Research Center; St. Petersburg, Russia
*
Correspondence to: H. Poghosyan, MD, Astghik Medical Center, 28/1 Daniel Varujan St, 0038 Yeravan, Armenia. Tel: +374 99 99 05 00; Fax: (+37410)773000; (+37410) 773458+316; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the results of endomyocardial biopsy from the right ventricle to establish the possible cause for drug-refractory arrhythmias in children.

Materials and methods

We enrolled 19 consecutive young patients with drug-refractory arrhythmia, from 2010 to 2013, who underwent endomyocardial biopsy. Inclusion criteria were as follows: age <18 years with a structurally normal heart or mild changes in a structure of the heart initially diagnosed as arrhythmia-induced cardiomyopathy. Overall, 86 biopsies were performed in 19 patients. Histopathological analysis, immunohistochemistry, and polymerase chain reaction were used for the interpretation of the endomyocardial biopsy.

Results

The mean age of the patient population was 14.1±2.9 year (range from 7 to 17 years). All these patients had a history of drug-refractory arrhythmia for >5 months (mean 30 months). Patients underwent a complete history investigation, physical examination, laboratory studies, echocardiography, electrocardiography, treadmill test, and Holter monitoring before endomyocardial biopsy; two patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia had implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation and further appropriate successful device shocks. Myocarditis was diagnosed based on histopathological and immunohistological analyses in nine (47.4%) patients. Polymerase chain reaction was positive for viral genome in four of them; five patients had active myocarditis. Radiofrequency ablation was performed in 17 patients; five out of six (83%) endomyocardial biopsy-proved myocarditis patients had successful radiofrequency ablation. No significant complication was reported during ablation and endomyocardial biopsy.

Conclusions

Approximately half of the children with drug-refractory arrhythmia had unsuspected myocarditis according to the results of the endomyocardial biopsy.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Roggen, A, Pavlovic, M, Pfammatter, JP. Frequency of spontaneous ventricular tachycardia in a pediatric1093 population. Am J Cardiol 2008; 101: 852854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Crosson, JE, Callans, DJ, Bradley, DJ, et al. PACES/HRS expert consensus statement on evaluation and management of ventricular arrhythmias in the child with a structurally normal heart. Heart Rhythm 2014; 11: e55e78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3. Epstein, AE, DiMarco, JP, Ellenbogen, KA, et al. ACC/AHA/HRS 2008 guidelines for device-based therapy of cardiac rhythm abnormalities. J Am Coll Cardiol 2008; 51: e162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. Kindermann, I, Barth, C, Mahfoud, F, et al. Update on myocarditis. J Am Coll Cardiol 2012; 59: 779792.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. Kindermann, I, Kindermann, M, Kandolf, R, et al. Predictors of outcome in patients with suspected myocarditis. Circulation 2008; 118: 639648.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Cooper, LT, Baughman, KL, Feldman, AM, et al. The role of endomyocardial biopsy in the management of cardiovascular disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the European Society of Cardiology. Endorsed by the Heart Failure Society of America and the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. J Am Coll Cardiol 2007; 50: 19141931.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Caforio, ALP, Calabrese, F, Angelini, A, et al. A prospective study of biopsy-proven myocarditis: prognostic relevance of clinical and aetiopathogenetic features at diagnosis. Eur Heart J 2007; 28: 13261333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Martin, AB, Webber, S, Fricker, FJ, et al. Acute myocarditis. Rapid diagnosis by PCR in children. Circulation 1994; 90: 330339.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Fenelon, G, Wijins, W, Andries, E, Brugada, P. Tachycardiomyopathy: mechanisms and clinical implications. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 1996; 19: 95106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10. Gopinathannair, R, Etheridge, SP, Marchlinski, FE, Spinale, FG, Lakkireddy, D, Olshansky, B. Arrhythmia-induced cardiomyopathies: mechanisms, recognition, and management. J Am Coll Cardiol 2015; 66: 17141728.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Ardehali, H, Qasim, A, Cappola, T, et al. Endomyocardial biopsy plays a role in diagnosing patients with unexplained cardiomyopathy. Am Heart J 2004; 147: 919923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12. Webber, SA, Boyle, GJ, Jaffe, R, Pickering, RM, Beerman, LB, Fricker, FJ. Role of right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy in infants and children with suspected or possible myocarditis. Br Heart J 1994; 72: 360363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Baughman, KL. Diagnosis of myocarditis. Circulation 2006; 113: 593595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. Friedman, R, Kearhey, D, Moak, J, Fenrich, A, Perry, J. Persistence of ventricular arrhythmia after resolution of occultmyocarditis in children and young adults. J Am Coll Cardiol 1994; 14: 780783.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. Hauck, A, Kearney, D, Edwards, W. Evaluation of postmortem endomyocardial biopsy specimens from 38 patients with lymphocytic myocarditis: implications for role of sampling error. Mayo Clin Proc 1989; 64: 12351245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16. Kühl, U, Noutsias, M, Seeberg, B, Schultheiss, HP. Immunohistological evidence for achronic intramyocardial inflammatory process in dilated cardiomyopathy. Heart 1996; 75: 295300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17. Pophal, S, Sigfusson, G, Booth, K, et al. Complications of endomyocardial biopsy in children. J Am Coll Cardiol 1999; 34: 21052110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Han, J, Park, Y, Lee, H, et al. Complications of 2-D echocardiography guided transfemoral right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy. J Korean Med Sci 2006; 21: 989994.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19. Hosenpud, JD, McAnulty, JH, Niles, NR. Unexpected myocardial disease in patients with life threatening arrhythmias. Br Heart J 1986; 56: 5561.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20. Chauhan, VS, Hameedullah, I, Nanthakumar, K, Downar, E. Epicardial catheter ablation of incessant ventricular tachycardia in giant cell myocarditis. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2008; 19: 1219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21. Kettering, K, Kampmann, C, Mollnau, H, Kreitner, KF, Munzel, T, Weiss, C. Catheter ablation of an incessant ventricular tachycardia originating from the left aortic sinus cusp in an adolescent with subacute myocarditis. Clin Res Cardiol 2009; 98: 6670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22. Russo, A, Casella, M, Pieroni, M, et al. Drug-refractory ventricular tachycardias after myocarditis endocardial and epicardial radiofrequency catheter ablation. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2012; 5: 492498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar