Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia in the pediatric patients: A single‐center experience

Background Ventricular tachycardia (VT) with or without structural heart disease is uncommon but well‐recognized clinically in children. With this retrospective study, we collected the data from the in‐hospital pediatric patients of VT with catheter ablation therapy. The purpose of this study is to assess the acute results and the long‐term outcome of catheter ablation in pediatric patients of VT in our single pediatric center. Methods This study included 53 consecutive children (male/female = 33/20, mean age = 8.2 ± 3.4 years, mean bodyweight = 32.6 ± 13.7 kg). All patients underwent electrophysiological study with an attempt of catheter ablation for clinical monomorphic VT. Acute and long‐term success rate of catheter ablation for the treatment of VT were compared between right and left VT as well as fascicular VT (FVT) and nonfascicular VT. Results There were 53 idiopathic VT forms found in the children, including FVT (n = 32), outflow tract VT (n = 15), papillary muscle VT (n = 5), and bundle branch reentry VT (n = 1). Acute success of catheter ablations for VT was achieved in 57 of all the 59 ablation procedures (97%) with VT recurrence occurred in six of 53 patients (11%). During a mean follow‐up period of 29.2 ± 21.7 months (range 1‐76 months) after hospital discharge, ablations in nonfascicular VT were as successful as FVT. There was no significant difference in the success rate between the right and left VT. Conclusion Catheter ablation is an effective treatment for idiopathic VT in children. The acute and long‐term success rates of catheter ablation for idiopathic VT in pediatric patients with normal heart structure are satisfying.