Acta paediatrica
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Epilepsy is a common paroxysmal disorder in childhood. Tachyarrhythmia, bradyarrhythmia, asystole, atrioventricular block, ventricular fibrillation or sudden death may occur during seizures. Mutations of ion-channel coding genes are found in patients with idiopathic or cryptogenic epilepsy. The ion channels also play a role in arrhythmogenesis. QT dispersion is a non-invasive method for assessment of regional repolarization differences within the myocardial tissue. This study investigated QT and QTc dispersion (QTcd) and the risk of dysrhythmia in epileptic children. ⋯ QT dispersion is increased in epileptic children. Further investigation is needed to reveal the pathogenesis of myocardial repolarization abnormalities in epileptic patients.
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Knowledge of the spectrum and frequencies of pediatric emergencies presenting to an emergency department (ED) of individual developing countries is vital in optimizing the quality of care delivered locally. ⋯ A wide spectrum of paediatric illnesses was seen in the ED, with an overrepresentation of young children. This supports the decision to have either a separate pediatric ED or paediatric residents on the staff. The training curricula should emphasize the management of pediatric trauma, infections and asthma. Alternatively, developing guidelines for the five most common presenting complaints would account for 82% of all attendees and could be directed towards all staff on the ED.