Material and Methods
This study is a retrospective chart review that aimed to describe our experience at a tertiary care center over 20 years. Patients less than 25 years diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmias who presented to our center at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) between 2000 and 2020 were identified. Inclusion criteria was set to be patients under 25 years of age, diagnosed with congenital heart disease and/or arrhythmias, who underwent catheter ablation. Data collection was conducted through a comprehensive review of hospital records, resulting in a total of 67 patients, of whom one underwent two ablations, for a total of 68 procedures.
The selection of patients for ablation was based on either failure of antiarrhythmic therapy, or patients’ choice versus chronic medical treatment. Relevant data encompassed demographic information including age and weight at ablation, the type of arrhythmia, ECG findings, presence of congenital structural heart disease, any complications encountered during the procedure, medications prescribed prior to the procedure and upon discharge, and the outcomes of the intervention.
Statistical analysis
Data management and analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. Descriptive statistics was carried out by presenting number and percent for categorical variables, whereas continuous ones were presented by mean and standard deviation. Bivariate analysis was carried out using Students’ t-test analysis for continuous variables and Chi-square tests for categorical variables. A statistically significant result was defined for a P-value <0.05.
Ethical approval
This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the American University of Beirut.