A Descriptive Analysis of Febrile Seizure Hospitalizations in Children with Congenital Heart Disease in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Febrile seizure (FS) is the most common convulsive disorder in children. This study analyzed the national proportion of congenital heart disease (CHD) and hospital resource utilization among children admitted for FSs in the U.S. METHODS: This is a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of pediatric patients up to six years with a primary diagnosis of FS in 2016 and 2019 using the Kids Inpatient Database (KID). The demographic, hospital, and clinical characteristics of children with and without CHD were compared using the chi-square test for categorical variables and linear regressions for continuous variables. Multivariate logistic analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of CHD on the mean length of hospital stay. RESULTS: An estimated 10,039 children were admitted with the primary diagnosis of FS. Out of these, 117 (1.2%) had a discharge diagnosis of CHD. The mean age for children with and without CHD was 1.4 years (SD 1.60) and 1.5 years (SD 1.501), respectively. Children with CHD who required hospitalization for FS had longer mean lengths of hospital stay (2.1 days vs. 1.6 days), with an adjusted odd ratio of 0.43 (95% CI: 0.07-0.99; p-value: 0.017). Similarly, the hospital charges for children with CHD were higher than those without CHD ($30,960.28 vs. $21,005.11). CONCLUSION: Children with CHD who required inpatient admission for FSs in the U.S. were associated with increased length of hospital stay and higher resource utilization when compared with those without CHD. This highlights the need for preventive measures among this vulnerable population.

Idiopathic Fascicular Ventricular Tachycardia in a Pediatric Patient With Suicidal Ideation and Self-Injurious Behavior.

Idiopathic fascicular ventricular tachycardia (IFVT) is an arrhythmia that occurs in a structurally normal heart and may present with sudden onset in a healthy individual. We present the case of a 10-year-old female child, with no pertinent medical history, who complained of palpitations and shortness of breath, which was followed by suicidal ideations. On presentation to the ER, tachycardia was noted with other vital signs within normal limits. Labs were unremarkable. EKG showed wide-complex tachycardia with right bundle branch block and left superior axis, consistent with idiopathic left ventricular fascicular tachycardia. The echocardiogram showed normal cardiac structure. She was transferred to the cardiovascular care unit and intravenous verapamil was given with the resolution of symptoms and reversal of tachycardia. She remained hemodynamically stable and was subsequently discharged on oral verapamil. This case report is aimed at raising awareness of the different ways IFVT can manifest, aiding physicians to easily recognize the zebra among the horses.

Tetralogy of Fallot With Absent Left Pulmonary Artery in a Patient Who Passed Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screening.

The literature on tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is abundant. It is a fairly common cyanotic congenital heart disease. It results from the anterior malalignment of the conal septum resulting in the aberrant formation of the ventricular septum leading to a defect. This presents a very important clinical significance because the prognosis usually depends on the clinical evaluation and initiation of timely therapy. We present a two-week-old baby with normal birth history and an uncomplicated newborn nursery course. He also passed the Critical Congenital Heart Disease screen at 24 hours of life. The routine examination by the pediatrician led to further investigations and treatments, highlighting the importance of good history-taking and clinical examination skills.

Sleep Deprivation Is Associated With Increased Risk for Hypertensive Heart Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Literature documenting the in-hospital cardiovascular outcomes of sleep deprivation (SD) patients is scarce. We aimed to compare inpatient cardiovascular outcomes in patients with sleep deprivation and those without sleep deprivation. METHOD: We queried the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2016 to 2019 to conduct a retrospective observational study. Using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes, we identified patients with sleep deprivation (SD) diagnosis and compared them to their counterparts without sleep deprivation (NSD). The cardiovascular outcomes of interest were hypertensive heart disease (HHD), atrial fibrillation (AF), and ST-segment and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI and NSTEMI, respectively). We used multivariable regression analysis to unearth the relationship between sleep deprivation and cardiovascular disease. RESULTS: There were 28,484,087 patients admitted during the study period, among which 2.1% (6,08,059) with a mean age of 59 (sd=19) years had a sleep deprivation diagnosis unrelated to medical or psychiatric illness. Of these, 75.7% were Caucasians, 11.5% were Blacks, and 8% were Hispanics. Individuals with sleep deprivation had a higher odds ratio (OR) of HHD, i.e., OR=1.3 (1.29-1.31), p<0.0001. The odds of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) was 0.9 (0.9-1.92), p=0.45; heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was 0.98 (0.97-1.01), p=0.31; and the odds of the SD population for AF was 0.9 (0.89-1.03), p=0.11. CONCLUSION: Sleep deprivation seems to be more prevalent in the Caucasian population. Individuals with sleep deprivation have a higher risk of hypertensive heart disease but similar outcomes to the general population in terms of AF, HFrEF, and HFpEF.