Project description:Differential diagnosis is challenging in poor conditioned neonates referred to the emergency room. Infectious disease is common, yet tachycardia should alert the clinician to look for cardiac arrhythmia and comprise. Tachycardia can lead to cardiomyopathy and should warrant further diagnostics for myocarditis, especially in rare or unusual combination of arrhythmias.
Project description:BackgroundJunctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a prevalent life-threatening arrhythmia in children with congenital heart disease (CHD), with marked resemblance to normal sinus rhythm (NSR) often leading to delay in diagnosis.ObjectiveTo develop a novel automated arrhythmia detection tool to identify JET.MethodsA single-center retrospective cohort study of children with CHD was performed. Electrocardiographic (ECG) data produced by bedside monitors is captured automatically by the Sickbay platform. Based on the detection of R and P wave peaks, 2 interpretable ECG features are calculated: P prominence median and PR interval interquartile range (IQR). These features are used as input to a simple logistic regression classification model built to distinguish JET from NSR.ResultsThis study analyzed a total of 64.5 physician-labeled hours consisting of 509,833 cardiac cycles (R-R intervals), from 40 patients with CHD. The extracted P prominence median feature is much smaller in JET compared to NSR, whereas the PR interval IQR feature is larger in JET compared to NSR. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the unseen patient test cohort was 93%. Selecting a threshold of 0.73 results in a true-positive rate of 90% and a false-positive rate of 17%.ConclusionThis novel arrhythmia detection tool identifies JET, using 2 distinctive features of JET in ECG-the loss of a normal P wave and PR relationship-allowing for early detection and timely intervention.
Project description:BackgroundJunctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is caused by ectopic rhythms, originating in the atrioventricular node, typically with heart rate between 200 and 250 bpm. Herein, we present a case of fetal JET with normal fetal heart rate and a review of nine cases.Case presentationA 32-year-old, gravida 2, para 1, woman in whom fetal JET could not be diagnosed prenatally because the fetal heart rate was within the normal range. The fetus was diagnosed with premature restriction of the foramen ovale, and a cesarean section was performed, owing to the right heart overload that was characterized by fetal ascites and abnormal fetal Doppler velocity. Postnatally, the female neonate was diagnosed with JET on a 12-lead electrocardiogram, which revealed a neonatal heart rate of 158 bpm with narrow QRS and atrioventricular dissociation. After failure to respond to amiodarone therapy, she was treated with flecainide, which controlled the JET rate from 120 to 150 bpm. Fetal tachycardia with ventriculo-atrial (VA) dissociation or 1:1 VA conduction with a shorter VA interval than that of atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia confirmed the diagnosis of fetal JET.ConclusionsJET should be suspected even in the absence of tachycardia in patients with ductus venosus and pulmonary vein retrograde flow or tricuspid and mitral regurgitation without a cardiac anomaly, as tachycardia might sometimes be intermittent in cases of JET.
Project description:Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a potentially life-threatening postoperative arrhythmia in children with specific congenital heart defects and can contribute significantly to postoperative morbidity for at-risk populations. In adults, β1-adrenergic receptor (ADRB1) and β2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) genotypes have been associated with increased risk for arrhythmias. However, their association with arrhythmia risk in children is unknown. We aimed to test associations between ADRB1 and ADRB2 genotypes and postoperative JET in patients with congenital heart defects. Children who underwent cardiac surgery were genotyped for the ADRB1 p.Ser49Gly (rs1801252; c.145A>G), p.Arg389Gly (rs1801253; c.1165C>G), ADRB2 p.Arg16Gly (rs1042713; c.46A>G), and p.Glu27Gln (rs1042714; c.79G>C) polymorphisms. The occurrence of postoperative JET was assessed via cardiologist-interpreted electrocardiograms. Genotype associations with JET were analyzed via logistic regression, adjusted for clinical variables associated with JET, with separate analysis in patients not on a β-blocker. Of the 343 children included (median age 8 months, 53% boys, 69% European ancestry), 45 (13%) developed JET. The Arg389Arg genotype was not significantly associated with JET in the overall population (odds ratio [OR] = 1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.96-4.03, p = 0.064), but was nominally associated in patients not taking a β-blocker (n = 324, OR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.05-4.80. p = 0.034). None of the other variants were associated with JET. These data suggest that the ADRB1 Arg389Arg genotype may predict risk for JET following cardiac surgery in pediatric patients in the absence of β-blockade. Whether treatment with a β-blocker ameliorates this association requires further research.
Project description:(1) Background: The panoramic view of a novel wide-band dielectric mapping system could show the individual anatomy. We aimed to compare the feasibility, efficacy and safety of the panoramic view guided approach for ablation of AVNRT with the conventional approach. (2) Methods: Ablation distributions in eight patients were retrospectively analyzed using the panoramic view. The para-slow-pathway (para-SP) region was divided into three regions, and the region that most frequently appeared with the appropriate junctional rhythm or eliminated the slow-pathway was defined as the adaptive slow-pathway (aSP) region. Twenty patients with AVNRT were then ablated in the aSP region under the panoramic view and compared with 40 patients using the conventional approach. (3) Results: Thirty ablation points were analyzed. The majority of effective points (95.0%) were located in the inferior and anterior portions of the para-SP region and defined as the aSP region. Baseline characteristics, fluoroscopic duration, and mean number of ablations were similar among the two groups. The panoramic view group had a significantly higher percentage of appropriate junctional rhythm (81.9% ± 26.0% vs. 55.7% ± 30.5%, p = 0.002) than the conventional group. (4) Conclusions: The use of the panoramic view for AVNRT ablation achieved similar clinical endpoints with higher ablation efficiency than the conventional approach.
Project description:Postoperative junctional ectopic tachycardia is one of the most serious arrhythmias that occur after pediatric cardiac surgery, difficult to treat and better to be prevented. Our aim was to assess the efficacy of prophylactic dexmedetomidine in preventing junctional ectopic tachycardia after pediatric cardiac surgery.A prospective controlled study was carried out on 90 children who underwent elective cardiac surgery for congenital heart diseases. Patients were randomized into 2 groups. Group I (dexmedetomidine group): 60 patients received dexmedetomidine; Group II (Placebo group): 30 patients received the same amount of normal saline intravenously. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative junctional ectopic tachycardia. Secondary outcomes included bradycardia, hypotension, vasoactive inotropic score, ventilation time, pediatric cardiac care unit stay, length of hospital stay, and perioperative mortality. The incidence of junctional ectopic tachycardia was significantly reduced in the dexmedetomidine group (3.3%) compared with the placebo group (16.7%) with P<0.005. Heart rate while coming off cardiopulmonary bypass was significantly lower in the dexmedetomidine group (130.6±9) than the placebo group (144±7.1) with P<0.001. Mean ventilation time, and mean duration of intensive care unit and hospital stay (days) were significantly shorter in the dexmedetomidine group than the placebo group (P<0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups as regards mortality, bradycardia, or hypotension (P>0.005).Prophylactic use of dexmedetomidine is associated with significantly decreased incidence of postoperative junctional ectopic tachycardia in children after congenital heart surgery without significant side effects.
Project description:Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmia. Hcn4:shJph2 mice serve as a model of nodal arrhythmias driven by ryanodine type 2 receptor (RyR2)-mediated Ca2+ leak. EL20 is a small molecule that blocks RyR2 Ca2+ leak. In a novel in vivo model of JET, Hcn4:shJph2 mice demonstrated rapid conversion of JET to sinus rhythm with infusion of EL20. Primary atrioventricular nodal cells demonstrated increased Ca2+ transient oscillation frequency and increased RyR2-mediated stored Ca2+ leak which was normalized by EL20. EL20 was found to be rapidly degraded in mouse and human plasma, making it a potential novel therapy for JET.
Project description:BackgroundJunctional Ectopic Tachycardia (JET) is an arrhythmia originating from the AV junction, which may occur following congenital heart surgery, especially when the intervention is near the atrioventricular junction.ObjectiveThe aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to compare the effectiveness of amiodarone, dexmedetomidine, and magnesium in preventing JET following congenital heart surgery.MethodsThis meta-analysis was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement, where 11 electronic databases were searched from the date of inception to August 2020. The incidence of JET was calculated with the relative risk of 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Quality assessment of the included studies was assessed using the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) 2010 statement.ResultsEleven studies met the predetermined inclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. Amiodarone, dexmedetomidine, and magnesium significantly reduced the incidence of postoperative JET [Amiodarone: risk ratio 0.34; I2= 0%; Z=3.66 (P=0.0002); 95% CI 0.19-0.60. Dexmedetomidine: risk ratio 0.34; I2= 0%; Z=4.77 (P<0.00001); 95% CI 0.21-0.52. Magnesium: risk ratio 0.50; I2= 24%; Z=5.08 (P<0.00001); 95% CI 0.39-0.66].ConclusionAll three drugs have shown promising results in reducing the incidence of JET. Our systematic review found that dexmedetomidine is better in reducing the length of ICU stays as well as mortality. In addition, dexmedetomidine also has the least pronounced side effects among the three. However, it should be noted that this conclusion was derived from studies with small sample sizes. Therefore, dexmedetomidine may be considered as the drug of choice for preventing JET.
Project description:BackgroundJunctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a prevalent life-threatening arrhythmia in children with congenital heart disease. It has a marked resemblance to normal sinus rhythm, often leading to delay in diagnosis and management.ObjectiveThe study sought to develop a novel multimodal automated arrhythmia detection tool that outperforms existing JET detection tools.MethodsThis is a cohort study performed on 40 patients with congenital heart disease at Texas Children's Hospital. Electrocardiogram and central venous pressure waveform data produced by bedside monitors are captured by the Sickbay platform. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were trained to classify each heartbeat as either normal sinus rhythm or JET based only on raw electrocardiogram signals.ResultsOur best model improved the area under the curve from 0.948 to 0.952 and the true positive rate at 5% false positive rate from 71.8% to 80.6%. Using a 3-model ensemble further improved the area under the curve to 0.953 and the true positive rate at 5% false positive rate to 85.2%. Results on a subset of data show that adding central venous pressure can significantly improve area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve from 0.646 to 0.825.ConclusionThis study validates the efficacy of deep neural networks to notably improve JET detection accuracy. We have built a performant and reliable model that can be used to create a bedside alarm that diagnoses JET, allowing for precise diagnosis of this life-threatening postoperative arrhythmia and prompt intervention. Future validation of the model in a larger cohort is needed.
Project description:BackgroundPostoperative junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) occurs frequently after pediatric cardiac surgery. R-wave synchronized atrial (AVT) pacing is used to re-establish atrioventricular synchrony. AVT pacing is complex, with technical pitfalls. We sought to establish and to test a low-cost simulation model suitable for training and analysis in AVT pacing.MethodsA simulation model was developed based on a JET simulator, a simulation doll, a cardiac monitor, and a pacemaker. A computer program simulated electrocardiograms. Ten experienced pediatric cardiologists tested the model. Their performance was analyzed using a testing protocol with 10 working steps.ResultsFour testers found the simulation model realistic; 6 found it very realistic. Nine claimed that the trial had improved their skills. All testers considered the model useful in teaching AVT pacing. The simulation test identified 5 working steps in which major mistakes in performance test may impede safe and effective AVT pacing and thus permitted specific training. The components of the model (exclusive monitor and pacemaker) cost less than $50. Assembly and training-session expenses were trivial.ConclusionsA realistic, low-cost simulation model of AVT pacing is described. The model is suitable for teaching and analyzing AVT pacing technique.