Prevalence of and risk factors for early postoperative arrhythmia in children after cardiac surgery

Background The aims of this study were to (i) evaluate postoperative arrhythmias following congenital heart surgery, on 12-lead electrocardiography and Holter monitoring; and (ii) analyze the association between the type of repair and postoperative arrhythmia. Methods A total of 229 children and 10 neonates with a mean age of 4.71 ± 0.41 years (range, 15 days-17 years) who underwent congenital cardiac surgery were included the study. Twelve-lead electrocardiography and Holter monitoring were used to evaluate arrhythmias after the operation. Results Within the evaluation period, 104 patients (43.5%) developed arrhythmias after surgery. No arrhythmias were observed in neonates. Female sex (51.9%) was slightly associated with the occurrence of arrhythmias after operation. The most common arrhythmia was supraventricular extra-systoles (65.4%). Risk factors for supraventricular extra-systoles were repair of secundum atrial septal defect (32.3%), ventricular septal defect (25%) and tetralogy of Fallot (14.7%). Also, ventricular extra-systoles were associated with repair of ventricular septal defect. Conclusions Postoperative arrhythmia is usually a frequent and transient phenomenon after congenital cardiac surgery, and is provoked by both mechanical irritation of the conduction system and humoral factors. Postoperative arrhythmia should be anticipated in patients with congenital cardiac surgery. Finally, the association between this type of surgical repair and arrhythmia may be helpful for estimating the type of arrhythmia that develops after congenital cardiac surgery in children. © 2013 The Authors.