Quality of life and psychosocial functioning of children with cardiac arrhythmias

Quality of life assessment in children before and after a successful ablation for supraventricular tachycardia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Young patients suffering from rhythm disorders have a negative impact in their quality of life. In recent years, ablation has become the first-line therapy for supraventricular arrhythmias in children. In the light of the current expertise and advancement in the field, we decided to evaluate the quality of life in young patients with supraventricular arrhythmias before and after a percutaneous ablation procedure.

METHODS

The prospective cohort consisted of patients <18 years with structurally normal hearts and non-pre-excited supraventricular arrhythmias, who had an ablation in our centre from 2013 to 2018. The cohort was evaluated with the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales self-questionnaire prior to and post-ablation.

RESULTS

The final cohort included 88 patients consisted of 52 males (59%), with a mean age at ablation of 12.5 ± 3.3 years. Forty-two patients (48%) had a retrograde-only accessory pathway mediating the tachycardia, 38 (43%) had atrio-ventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia, 7 (8%) had ectopic atrial tachycardia, and 1 (1%) had atrial flutter. The main reason for an ablation was the patient's choice in 53%. There were no severe complications. Comparison between the baseline and post-ablation assessments showed that patients reported significant improvement in the scores for physical health, emotional and social functioning, as well as in the total scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study demonstrates that the successful treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias by means of an ablation results in a significant improvement in the quality of self-reported life scores in young patients.

Evaluation of medical and psychological parameters of quality of life in supraventricular tachyarrhythmia children. A comparison with healthy children

INTRODUCTION

There are only a few available studies evaluating quality of life (QoL) in pediatric patients with cardiac arrhythmia. The aim of the study was to evaluate medical and psychological parameters of the QoL in children with a diagnosed supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (SVT) and to compare the obtained data with a group of healthy children (HC).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Inclusion criteria: children aged 7-18 with SVT, treated at Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Department of Pediatric Cardiology. The evaluation tools were the WHOQOL-BREF instrument and a questionnaire related to the patient's feelings and observations concerning arrhythmia (Pediatric Arrhythmia Related Score - PARS), developed by the authors and adjusted to the group of arrhythmia patients.

RESULTS

The study included 180 SVT children and 83 HC. On the basis of WHOQOL-BREF the SVT group was found to have lower assessment values of QoL within the physical domain (Phd) (mean ± SD: 65.7 ±15.8 vs. 81.6 ±12.8; p < 0.0001) and psychological domain (Psd) (mean ± SD: 75.8 ±15.2 vs. 81.3 ±14.1; p < 0.005). No significant differences were found within the social relationships domain or the environment domain. On the basis of PARS in the SVT group the patients reported significantly increased symptoms within Phd (mean ± SD: 2.3 ±0.7 vs. 1.6 ± 0.3; p < 0.0001) as well as increased negative feelings within Psd (mean ± SD: 2.3 ±0.7 vs. 2.1 ± 0.6; p < 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Medical and psychological parameters of the QoL in SVT children are significantly lower in comparison with HC. A diagnosis of SVT has no influence on the social and environmental areas of QoL. The PARS appears to be a useful tool to supplement the generic questionnaire for QoL evaluation in SVT children.

Systematic psychosocial screening in a paediatric cardiology clinic: clinical utility of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist 17

OBJECTIVE

To examine the clinical utility of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist 17 for identifying psychosocial concerns and improving access to psychology services within a paediatric cardiology clinic.

METHOD

Parents of 561 children (aged 4-17 years) presenting for follow-up of CHD, acquired heart disease, or arrhythmia completed the Pediatric Symptom Checklist 17 as part of routine care; three items assessing parental (1) concern for learning/development, (2) questions about adjustment to cardiac diagnosis, and (3) interest in discussing concerns with a behavioural healthcare specialist were added to the questionnaire. A psychologist contacted the parents by phone if they indicated interest in speaking with a behavioural healthcare specialist.

RESULTS

Percentages of children scoring above clinical cut-offs for externalising (10.5%), attention (8.7%), and total (9.3%) problems were similar to a "normative" primary-care sample, whereas fewer children in this study scored above the cut-off for internalising problems (7.8%; p<0.01). Sociodemographic, but not clinical, characteristics were associated with Pediatric Symptom Checklist 17 scores. 17% of the parents endorsed concerns about learning/development, and 20% endorsed questions about adjustment to diagnosis. History of cardiac surgery was associated with increased concern about learning/development (p<0.01). Only 37% of the parents expressing psychosocial concerns reported interest in speaking with a psychologist.

CONCLUSIONS

The Pediatric Symptom Checklist 17 may not be sensitive to specific difficulties experienced by this patient population. A questionnaire with greater focus on learning/development and adjustment to diagnosis may yield improved utility. Psychology integration in clinics serving high-risk cardiac patients may decrease barriers to behavioural healthcare services.

Resilience in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease

BACKGROUND

Resilience is a psychosocial factor associated with clinical outcomes in chronic diseases. The relationship between this protective factor and certain diseases, such heart diseases, is still under-explored.

OBJECTIVE

The present study sought to investigate the frequency of resilience in individuals with ischemic heart disease.

METHOD

This was a cross-sectional study with 133 patients of both genders, aged between 35 and 65 years, treated at Rio Grande do Sul Cardiology Institute - Cardiology University Foundation, with a diagnosis of ischemic heart disease during the study period. Sixty-seven patients had a history of acute myocardial infarction. The individuals were interviewed and evaluated by the Wagnild & Young resilience scale and a sociodemographic questionnaire.

RESULTS

Eighty-one percent of patients were classified as resilient according to the scale.

CONCLUSION

In the sample studied, resilience was identified in high proportion among patients with ischemic heart disease.

The relationship of patient medical and laboratory characteristics to changes in functional health status in children and adolescents after the Fontan procedure

Despite hypothesized concerns about deterioration beginning in adolescence, longitudinal data and associated factors regarding standardized assessment of physical functioning are not available for Fontan patients. Parents who participated in the Fontan Cross-Sectional Study completed the Child Health Questionnaire at 2 time points for 245 subjects ages 6-18 years. Associations between change in Physical Functioning Summary Score and baseline patient, medical, and laboratory characteristics (mean age 9.5 ± 1.7 years) and follow-up patient and medical characteristics (mean age 16.2 ± 1.6 years) were determined by regression analyses. During a mean of 6.7 ± 0.4 years, a small (not clinically important) but statistically significant decrease in score from 46.2 ± 11.7 to 44.5 ± 12.1 (p < 0.03) was noted. Subjects with higher baseline scores had a greater decrease in score (r = -0.48; p < 0.001). A multivariable model of patient and medical characteristics (R(2) = 0.11) showed that a greater decrease in score was significantly associated with interim development of asthma (n = 13; parameter estimate [PE] -6.6; p < 0.05) or other chronic respiratory, lung, or breathing problems (n = 13; PE -12.5; p < 0.001) and the presence of protein-losing enteropathy at any time (n = 12; PE -9.4; p = 0.006). Change in score was not significantly associated with baseline laboratory measures of exercise capacity and ventricular characteristics and function. Therefore, although physical functioning may be stable during adolescence for many Fontan patients, deterioration occurs in some in association with respiratory conditions and protein-losing enteropathy. Further longitudinal study is necessary to better understand the relationship between clinical morbidities and functional health status as these patients transition into adulthood.

Pilot evaluation of an integrated monitor-adhesive patch for long-term cardiac arrhythmia detection in India

Electrocardiographic monitoring represents one of the most reliable and time-tested methods for reducing ambiguity in cardiac arrhythmia diagnosis. In India, the resting ECG is generally the first tool of choice for in-clinic diagnosis. The external loop recorder (ELR) is another useful tool that compounds the advantages of traditional tools by coupling ambulatory monitoring with a long-term window. Thus, the objective was to test the use of a 7-day ELR for arrhythmia diagnosis in India for a broad range of presenting symptoms. In this study set in the Indian healthcare environment, an auto-triggered, wireless patch-type ELR was used with 125 patients (62.5 ± 16.7 years, 76 males) presenting a broad range of symptoms. Eighty percent of the symptoms were related to syncope, presyncope or palpitations. Patients were administered an ELR for 7-28 days depending on the physician's prescription. Prespecified significant arrhythmias included sinus pause >2 s, symptomatic bradycardia <40 b.p.m., second-degree (and higher) AV block, complete heart block, ventricular fibrillation, sustained/nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (>3 beats), atrial fibrillation (chronic or paroxysmal), atrial flutter and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) >130 b.p.m. Diagnostic yield was 38% when a stringent tabulation methodology considering only clinically significant arrhythmia was used. When first-degree AV block, premature atrial and ventricular beats, couplets (both atrial and ventricular in origin), bigeminy or trigeminy, or sudden changes in rate (noted as sinus arrhythmia) were included in the calculation, diagnostic yield was 80%. Patient compliance was 98%; patients wore the patch for the entire prescribed monitoring period without disruption. Seventy percent of the reported symptoms corresponded with an arrhythmia. Use of the ELR led to therapy change in 24% of patients: 15 patients went on to receive an implantable cardioverter defibrillator or pacemaker, 4 received ablation therapy and 11 altered their medication after diagnosis. This study demonstrates that a high diagnostic yield for clinically significant arrhythmias and high patient compliance can be achieved with a wearable patch monitor in Indian patients suffering from a variety of symptoms.

Patient selection for ambulatory cardiac monitoring in the Indian healthcare environment

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in India comprises the bulk of non-communicable diseases, resulting in 2 million deaths per year. The incidence of CVD in India is estimated to be up to four times higher than in other countries. Though the quantification of the prevalence of rhythm disorders in India is not available, it can be inferred to be proportionately high. Identification and treatment of arrhythmia is limited by several socioeconomic factors including low health insurance penetration, limited reimbursement and high out-of-pocket expenditures. Thus, there exists a need in India to (1) select an appropriate tool that is both high yielding and cost effective and (2) employ a suitable patient selection method. This paper focuses on these two aspects for cardiac arrhythmia diagnosis using ambulatory monitoring technology, while keeping in mind the dynamics of the Indian healthcare setting.