Korean J Perinatol.  2014 Sep;25(3):189-194. 10.14734/kjp.2014.25.3.189.

Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia at 1-Month Age and Transient Thyroid Dysfunction in a Preterm Baby Treated for Fetal Tachycardia with Amiodarone

• Nam SW
• Ko SY
• Lee YK
• Yoon SY
• Park SW
• Shin SS

• KMID: 2280997
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14734/kjp.2014.25.3.189

Abstract

Fetal tachycardia is mostly benign, but sometimes results in serious consequences such as fetal hydrops and fetal death. To decrease cardiovascular burden, fetuses could be treated with transplacental administration of antiarrhythmic drugs such as digoxin, amiodarone. Although amiodarone has been proven to be effective against fetal tachycardia, it is also known to cause transient neonatal thyroid dysfunction and neurodevelopmental delay in some patients. Nonetheless, there has been only few postnatal follow-up studies with the patients who were diagnosed and treated for fetal tachycardia although majority of postnatal arrhythmias occurred within the first 48 hours of life in a recent report. We report a newborn with transient thyroid dysfunction and late-onset supraventricular tachycardia at 1 month age, who had fetal tachycardia treated with amiodarone at the 25th week of pregnancy.

Keyword

Tachycardia; Amiodarone; Hypothyroidism; Newborn

MeSH Terms

Amiodarone*
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
Arrhythmias, Cardiac
Digoxin
Fetal Death
Fetus
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Hydrops Fetalis
Hypothyroidism
Infant, Newborn
Pregnancy
Tachycardia*
Tachycardia, Supraventricular*
Thyroid Gland*
Amiodarone
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
Digoxin

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Twelve leads from electrocardiogram recorded at birth with normal sinus rhythm.

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  Fig. 2. Lead II from electrocardiogram recorded (A) at 1 month age with supraventricular tachycardia, and (B) after administration of adenosine, showing termination of tachycardia.

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