key: cord-0968685-u69norcn authors: Akın, Alper; Şen, Velat; Yılmaz, Kamil; Aktar, Fesih; Türe, Mehmet; Mermutluoğlu, Çiğdem; Gözü Pirinççioğlu, Ayfer title: Electrocardiographic Ventricular Repolarization Variables in Children Diagnosed With COVID-19 date: 2021-07-01 journal: Turk Arch Pediatr DOI: 10.5152/turkarchpediatr.2021.21092 sha: bd328a971baf067c6cb5f9d820dbd8002756b430 doc_id: 968685 cord_uid: u69norcn nan There are various ECG parameters that are predictors of cardiac arrhythmias, especially ventricular arrhythmias. QT lengths, corrected QT (QTc), QT dispersion (QTd) and QTc dispersion (QTcd), Tp-e interval (time between peak and end of T wave from precordial leads), Tp-e dispersion and Tp-e/QT measurements are frequently used for this purpose. It was thought that QT, QTc, QTd, QTcd and Tp-e interval could be associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality. 6 Ece et al. 7 found that QTd, QTcd, Tp-e, Tp-e dispersion, Tp-e/QT ratio and Tp-e/QTc ratio were statistically higher in COVID-19 subjects than control subjects. They concluded that ventricular repolarization may also be impaired in asymptomatic children diagnosed with COVID-19. Yenerçağ et al. 8 showed that adult patients with COVID-19 had prolonged Tp-e interval, Tp-e / QT ratio and Tp-e / QTc ratio compared to normal healthy individuals. The ECGs of the children hospitalized in our hospital diagnosed with COVID-19 were evaluated before any treatment had been initiated. This study included 55 patients between the ages of 0-18 who were diagnosed with COVID-19 as well as 55 age and gender-matched healthy children as the control group. The mean age of the patients was 104.5 (±64.98) months, and 32 patients were male. There was no significant difference between the patient and control groups in terms of age, gender, body weight, body mass index, and heart rate. QT length, QTc, QTcd, Tp-e interval, Tp-e dispersion, and Tp-e/QT ratio values were measured and compared in 12-lead surface ECG of the patient and control. The patient group had significantly higher QTd, QTcd, Tp-e dispersion, and Tp-e/QT ratio values and significantly lower QTmin (shortest QT lengths) and QTcmin (shortest QTc) values compared to the control (Table 1 ). There was a positive correlation between Tpe/QT and C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = +0.355, P = .008). None of the patients had an electrolyte imbalance that could cause electrocardiographic changes nor elevated cardiac troponin levels. Furthermore, the mean oxygen saturation of our patients was within normal limits. Life-threatening arrhythmias were not observed in any patients. Although it is reported that life-threatening heart rhythm disorders are less common among children diagnosed with COVID-19 compared to adults patients, the effects of the infection on electrocardiographic parameters are not yet fully known. Our study showed that ECG evaluation performed in children diagnosed with COVID-19 might increase the parameters showing the risk of ventricular arrhythmia. Therefore, especially all COVID-19 positive children who will be initiated with QT-prolonging medication should be closely followed up, and routine ECGs should be taken. In addition, long-term studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between these changes in ECG parameters with arrhythmia and cardiac events. DOI Outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan China: the mystery and the miracle Coronavirus infections in children including COVID-19: an overview of the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prevention options in children Cardiovascular implications of fatal outcomes of patients with coronavirus disease Cytochrome P450 2C8 and CYP3A4/5 are involved in chloroquine metabolism in human liver microsomes Antiarrhythmic potential of anticytokine therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: tocilizumab reduces corrected QT interval by controlling systemic inflammation QTc dispersion predicts cardiac mortality in the elderly. the roteterdam study Assessment of cardiac arrhythmic risk in children with Covid-19 infection Evaluation of electrocardiographic ventricular repolarization variables in patients with newly diagnosed COVID-19 The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.