Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia: An unusual case of fright-induced prehospital cardiac arrest in a healthy 6 year old child.

We present a case of a 6 year old male who had a sudden unexplained prehospital cardiac arrest after being scared by a domestic animal and who presented in ventricular fibrillation. The patient was subsequently defibrillated with a return of spontaneous circulation. During the course of care, medications with beta-1 and -2 agonist properties were administered, followed by multiple further episodes of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF). Once these medications were discontinued and beta blockers were administered, the patient had no further episodes of PVT/VF and was subsequently discharged from hospital seven days later, completely neurologically intact. This case suggests the need for caution when considering administering beta agonists in a pediatric cardiac arrest patient with no known history of heart disease who presents in VF or PVT after an incident of extreme stress or strenuous physical activity. Key words: emergency medical services; prehospital; cardiac arrest; pediatric resuscitation; polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. PMID: 31038375 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Prehospital Emergency Care - Category: Endocrinology Tags: Prehosp Emerg Care Source Type: research