Clinical-epidemiological characterization of patients with cardiac arrhythmias at the Hermanos Cordové Pediatric Hospital in Manzanillo (Original)

Abstract

Cardiac arrhythmias constitute heart rhythm disorders. Although they do not exhibit a high frequency in pediatric age, they can have severe consequences. There is similarity in the mechanisms of production of arrhythmias in children and in adults, however, a particular management of the patients at the time of diagnosis, treatment and subsequent follow-up is pertinent. The objective of the article is to characterize the clinical-epidemiological behavior of patients with cardiac arrhythmias in the Cardiology consultation of the Hermanos Cordové Pediatric Hospital in Manzanillo. An observational, descriptive, retrospective study was carried out in the period August 2020-August 2022. The results were analyzed according to descriptive statistics. The ages in which this disease predominated were in the range of  5-12 years, with a greater frequency of males; the majority of patients had an out-of-hospital origin; the predominant type of arrhythmia was respiratory sinus arrhythmia, followed by sinus tachycardia and extrasystoles; palpitations were the main symptom through which the disease manifested; only 23 patients had comorbidity with cardiac arrhythmia, of which congenital heart disease predominated. Most of the patients in the study were adolescents from primary health care, in whom comorbidity was not a significant finding. However, congenital heart disease was the comorbidity that was most associated with cardiac arrhythmias.