Coronary Events Following Dobutamine Stress Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Pediatric Patients

Dobutamine stress cardiac magnetic resonance (dsCMR) has demonstrated value in identifying patients at risk for adverse cardiovascular events in adults with coronary artery disease, but its prognostic value in younger patients is unknown. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between dsCMR results and the risk of subsequent cardiovascular events in children. Patients age < 23 years who underwent dsCMR at Boston Children's Hospital were eligible for inclusion. Patients were excluded if no follow-up data were available after dsCMR or the dsCMR protocol was not completed. Data regarding the presence of inducible regional wall motion abnormalities and subsequent cardiovascular events during follow-up were analyzed. Cardiovascular events included myocardial infarction, surgical or catheter-based coronary artery intervention, and ischemic symptoms. Among 80 dsCMR studies in 64 patients with median age 5.3 years (range 0.5-22.4 years), 3 patients had a positive dsCMR with inducible regional wall motion abnormalities. Over a median follow-up of 7.4 years (IQR 4.0-11.2), 2 of these patients underwent surgical intervention (coronary artery bypass grafting and unroofing of a myocardial bridge) and the third remained asymptomatic with no interventions. Among 61 patients with a negative dsCMR, none experienced myocardial infarction, death, or aborted sudden death. Four underwent cardiac interventions (cardiac transplantation, coronary artery bypass grafting, and unroofing) due to symptoms or catheterization findings. In pediatric patients undergoing dsCMR, wall motion abnormalities indicating inducible ischemia were uncommon. Those with a negative dsCMR were unlikely to experience an adverse cardiac event or undergo a cardiac intervention on medium-term follow-up.