Title

Loss of ventricular preexcitation during noninvasive testing does not exclude high-risk accessory pathways: A multicenter study of WPW in children

Affiliations

Advocate Children's Hospital

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Abrupt loss of ventricular preexcitation on noninvasive evaluation, or nonpersistent preexcitation, in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) is thought to indicate a low risk of life-threatening events.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare accessory pathway (AP) characteristics and occurrences of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and rapidly conducted preexcited atrial fibrillation (RC-AF) in patients with nonpersistent and persistent preexcitation.

METHODS: Patients 21 years or younger with WPW and invasive electrophysiology study (EPS) data, SCA, or RC-AF were identified from multicenter databases. Nonpersistent preexcitation was defined as absence/sudden loss of preexcitation on electrocardiography, Holter monitoring, or exercise stress test. RC-AF was defined as clinical preexcited atrial fibrillation with shortest preexcited R-R interval (SPERRI) ≤ 250 ms. AP effective refractory period (APERP), SPERRI at EPS , and shortest preexcited paced cycle length (SPPCL) were collected. High-risk APs were defined as APERP, SPERRI, or SPPCL ≤ 250 ms.

RESULTS: Of 1589 patients, 244 (15%) had nonpersistent preexcitation and 1345 (85%) had persistent preexcitation. There were no differences in sex (58% male vs 60% male; P=.49) or age (13.3±3.6 years vs 13.1±3.9 years; P=.43) between groups. Although APERP (344±76 ms vs 312±61 ms; P

CONCLUSION: Nonpersistent preexcitation was associated with fewer high-risk APs, though it did not exclude the risk of SCA or RC-AF in children with WPW.

Document Type

Article

PubMed ID

32497761

DOI

10.1016/j.hrthm.2020.05.035

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