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Prenatal diagnosis of a familial form of junctional ectopic tachycardia
- Source :
- Prenatal Diagnosis. 19:767-770
- Publication Year :
- 1999
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 1999.
-
Abstract
- Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a rare cardiac arrhythmia characterized by atrio-ventricular dissociation, a high rate junctional escape rhythm and poor clinical tolerance in neonates and infants. Sudden infant death has been reported. The intra-uterine presentation of this arrhythmia is unknown. We report a familial form of JET with antenatal diagnosis. A sustained tachycardia at a rate of 170 beats/min with a 1:1 conduction was diagnosed in a hydropic fetus at a gestational age of 32 weeks. The older brother had presented with prenatal hydrops and junctional ectopic tachycardia was diagnosed at birth. Assuming that this arrhythmia was a JET, amiodarone was given to the mother in order to control the fetal tachycardia. The arrhythmia persisted with a 1/1 pattern but at a slower ventricular rate (140 beats/min). The ECG performed at birth revealed a narrow QRS tachycardia with a ventricular rate of 180 beats/min and a 1/1 retrograde conduction. Amiodarone therapy was continued with the addition of propanolol. Postnatal echocardiography revealed normal chambers and left ventricular dysfunction with a left ventricular shortening fraction of 17 per cent. Subsequent ECGs and Holter monitoring demonstrated typical electrocardiographic features of JET. Both parents had a normal ECG and Holter monitoring. A fetal tachycardia of moderately high rate with a 1/1 retrograde conduction and poor cardiac tolerance can be due to JET. In such cases, the use of amiodarone can be considered as a first line drug.
- Subjects :
- Tachycardia
medicine.medical_specialty
Fetus
Heart disease
business.industry
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Gestational age
Cardiac arrhythmia
Amiodarone
medicine.disease
Fetal Tachycardia
Internal medicine
Junctional ectopic tachycardia
cardiovascular system
medicine
Cardiology
cardiovascular diseases
medicine.symptom
business
Genetics (clinical)
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10970223 and 01973851
- Volume :
- 19
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Prenatal Diagnosis
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........77e91943da2bcc6827310065b62178c5