Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disease with plasma total cholesterol especially low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol elevation. In this study, we aimed to examine the changes in the electrocardiographies of children with familial hypercholesterolemia.

Electrocardiography of 85 patients with a diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia, followed up from the Pediatric Metabolism and Pediatric Cardiology outpatient clinic was examined. Electrocardiography of 83 children from the control group who did not have hypercholesterolemia in a similar gender and age range were examined. Heart rate, P wave, PR interval, P wave dispersion, QRS wave, QT interval, corrected QT (calculated with Bazett formula), Tpeak-end interval, QT dispersion, corrected QT dispersion, JT interval, corrected JT (calculated with Bazett formula) were statistically compared.

P wave, PR interval, and P wave dispersion values were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the children with familial hypercholesterolemia. Corrected QT, QT dispersion, corrected QT dispersion, JT interval, corrected JT, Tpeak-end interval were significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.05) in children with familial hypercholesterolemia. These statistical differences in electrocardiography parameters support the risk of atrial and/or ventricular arrhythmia in children with familial hypercholesterolemia.

We found that high total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol variables are associated with an increased risk of cardiac atrial and/or ventricular arrhythmia. The findings suggest that total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol variability can be used as a new marker for the risk of cardiac arrhythmia. In this case, decreasing total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol variability below certain thresholds may decrease the risk of cardiac arrhythmia.

Electrocardiograms are frequently obtained in infants and children. Training specific to paediatric electrocardiogram interpretation is necessary given that cardiac physiology and electrocardiogram findings in children are different than adults and change throughout infancy and childhood. Distributed practice may be an effective method to improve paediatric residency electrocardiogram education efforts.

A pre-survey was administered to paediatric and internal medicine/paediatrics residents to ascertain baseline comfort with electrocardiogram interpretation. Subsequently, residents were emailed a clinical vignette with an associated electrocardiogram and multiple-choice question 1–2 times monthly. After submitting their answer, residents were taken to a webpage explaining key concepts explored in the clinical vignette. After 6 and 12 months, a survey was administered asking residents to again rate their confidence in the same electrocardiogram interpretation skills.

The longitudinal email-based curriculum increased exposure to electrocardiogram training. Six months of participation in the curriculum correlated with significant increases in confidence in electrocardiogram interpretation skills. While there was no further increase in confidence seen at 12 months, the improvement seen at 6 months was durable. Participation in the curriculum most significantly correlated with changes in confidence in ability to utilise a stepwise approach for electrocardiogram interpretation.

The curriculum resulted in durable improvement in confidence in electrocardiogram interpretation skills for paediatric residents at our centre, suggesting that email-based distributive practice can be an effective method for skill and knowledge improvement for complex educational topics.

The “Fast track” protocol is an early extubation strategy to reduce ventilator-associated complications and induce early recovery after open-heart surgery. This study compared clinical outcomes between operating room extubation and ICU extubation after open-heart surgery in patients with CHD.

We retrospectively reviewed 215 patients who underwent open-heart surgery for CHDs under the scheduled “Fast track” protocol between September 2016 and April 2022. The clinical endpoints were post-operative complications, including bleeding, respiratory and neurological complications, and hospital/ICU stays.

The patients were divided into operating room extubation (group O, n = 124) and ICU extubation (group I, n=91) groups. The most frequently performed procedures were patch closures of the atrial septal (107/215, 49.8%) and ventricular septal (89/215, 41.4%) defects. There were no significant differences in major post-operative complications or ICU and hospital stay duration between the two groups; however, patients in group I showed longer mechanical ventilatory support (0.0 min vs. 59.0 min (interquartile range: 17.0–169.0), p < 0.001). Patients in Group O showed higher initial lactate levels (3.2 ± 1.7 mg/dL versus 2.5 ± 2.0 mg/dL, p = 0.007) and more frequently used additional sedatives and opioid analgesics (33.1% versus 19.8%, p = 0.031).

Extubation in the operating room was not beneficial for patients during post-operative ICU or hospital stay. Early extubation in the ICU resulted in more stable hemodynamics in the immediate post-operative period and required less use of sedatives and analgesics.

To determine whether gross motor scores of toddlers after complex cardiac surgery were different from fine motor scores and were adequately represented by motor composite scores and, whether acute care predictors and chronic childhood health markers of gross motor scores differed from those of fine motor.

This prospective inception-cohort outcomes study included 171 toddlers after complex cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass at age <6 months, born in Northern Alberta from 2009 to 2019, and without known chromosomal abnormalities. At a mean (standard deviation) age of 21.7 (3.7) months, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III determined motor composite and scaled scores (normative values, 100 (15), 10 (3), respectively). The same variables from surgery and assessment were analysed using multivariate regression to predict gross and fine motor scores; results expressed as effect size (95% confidence interval) with % variance.

Composite, fine, and gross motor scores were 89.7 (14.2), 9.4 (2.5), and 7.2 (2.7), respectively. Predictive variables accounted for 21.2% of the variance for fine motor, and 36.9% for gross motor. Multivariate analysis for gross motor scores included toddlers need for cardiac medication, effect size (95% confidence interval) −0.801 (−1.62, −0.02), gastrostomy, −1.35 (−2.39, −0.319), and single ventricle, −0.93 (−1.71, −0.15). These same variables did not predict fine motor scores.

Gross motor skills commonly were lower than fine motor skills for toddlers after complex cardiac surgery. Predictors for gross motor scores differed from fine motor scores. Separate reporting of gross motor scores could lead to improved identification of predictors of delay and to optimised early intervention.

The study of psychological well-being and related resilient outcomes is of increasing focus in cardiovascular research. Despite the critical importance of psychological well-being and related resilient outcomes in promoting optimal cardiac health, there have been very few psychological interventions directed towards children with heart disease. This paper describes the development and theoretical framework of the WE BEAT Wellbeing Education Program, a group-based psychoeducation and coping skills training intervention designed to improve psychological well-being and resilience in adolescents with paediatric heart disease.

Program development was informed by patient and family needs and input gathered via large, international survey methods as well as qualitative investigation, a theoretical framework, and related resilience intervention research.

An overview of the WE BEAT intervention components and structure of the programme is provided.

The WE BEAT Wellbeing Education Program was developed as one of the first resiliency-focused interventions in paediatric heart disease with an overall objective to foster positive psychological well-being and resilient outcomes through a health promotion and prevention lens in an accessible format while providing access to safe, peer-to-peer community building. Feasibility pilot results are forthcoming. Future directions include mobile app-based delivery and larger-scale efficacy and implementation trials.

Publicly available health information is increasingly important for patients and their families. While the average US citizen reads at an 8th-grade level, electronic educational materials for patients and families are often advanced. We assessed the quality and readability of publicly available resources regarding hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

We queried four search engines for “hypoplastic left heart syndrome”, “HLHS”, and “hypoplastic left ventricle”. The top 30 websites from searches on Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Dogpile were combined into a single list. Duplicates, commercial websites, physician-oriented resources, disability websites, and broken links were removed. Websites were graded for accountability, content, interactivity, and structure using a two-reviewer system. Nonparametric analysis of variance was performed.

Fifty-two websites were analysed. Inter-rater agreement was high (Kappa = 0.874). Website types included 35 hospital/healthcare organisation (67.3%), 12 open access (23.1%), 4 governmental agency (7.7%), and 1 professional medical society (1.9%). Median total score was 19 of 39 (interquartile range = 15.8–25.3): accountability 5.5 of 17 (interquartile range = 2.0–9.3), content 8 of 12 (interquartile range = 6.4–10.0), interactivity 2 of 6 (interquartile range = 2.0–3.0), and structure 3 of 4 (interquartile range = 2.8–4.0). Accountability was low with 32.7% (n = 17) of sites disclosing authorship and 26.9% (n = 14) citing sources. Forty-two percent (n = 22) of websites were available in Spanish. Total score varied by website type (p = 0.03), with open access sites scoring highest (median = 26.5; interquartile range = 20.5–28.6) and hospital/healthcare organisation websites scoring lowest (median = 17.5; interquartile range = 13.5–21.5). Score differences were driven by differences in accountability (p = 0.001) – content scores were similar between groups (p = 0.25). Overall readability was low, with median Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level of 11th grade (interquartile range = 10th–12th grade).

Our evaluation of popular websites about HLHS identifies multiple opportunities for improvement, including increasing accountability by disclosing authorship and citing sources, enhancing readability by providing material that is understandable to readers with the full spectrum of educational background, and providing information in languages besides English, all of which would enhance health equity.

CHD are among the most common congenital defects. Due to the chronic nature of CHD, patients face various risk factors that threaten their mental health. However, a comprehensive understanding of the medical and social predictors of mental health issues in adults with CHD is lacking. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression in adults with CHD.

This cross-sectional descriptive study focused on adults with CHD in Kerman, Iran. The participants completed demographic information alongside two psychological assessment tools: the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS)-21. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26.

The mean age of the participants was 29.94 ± 12.36 years, and 63.8% were female. According to the DASS, 73.4% did not have depression, 61% did not have anxiety, and 76.2% did not have stress. In total, 19% had mild stress, and 4.8% had moderate stress. According to the BAI, 27.6% did not have anxiety. Individual characteristics were not significantly associated with depression. However, gender, age, and type of surgery were significantly associated with anxiety. Cyanosis was significantly associated with stress.

The results show that mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and stress are highly prevalent in adults with CHD. The prevalence depends on individual factors such as age, gender, and disease severity. Therefore, it is recommended that mental disorders in this population be evaluated and treated accurately.

Kawasaki disease is a systemic vascular disease with an unclear pathophysiology that primarily affects children under the age of five. Research on immune control in Kawasaki disease has been gaining attention. This study aims to apply a bibliometric analysis to examine the present and future directions of immune control in Kawasaki disease.

By utilizing the themes “Kawasaki disease,” “Kawasaki syndrome,” and “immune control,” the Web of Science Core Collection database was searched for publications on immune control in Kawasaki disease. This bibliometric analysis was carried out using VOSviewers, CiteSpace, and the R package “bibliometrix.”

In total, 294 studies on immune control in Kawasaki disease were published in Web of Science Core Collection. The three most significant institutions were Chang Gung University, the University of California San Diego, and Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. China, the United States, and Japan were the three most important countries. In this research field, Clinical and Experimental Immunology was the top-referred journal, while the New England Journal of Medicine was the most co-cited journal. The Web of Science Core Collection document by McCrindle BW et al. published in 2017 was the most cited reference. Additionally, the author keywords concentrated on “COVID-19,” “SARS-CoV-2,” and “multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children” in recent years.

The research trends and advancements in immune control in Kawasaki disease are thoroughly summarised in this bibliometric analysis, which is the first to do so. The data indicate recent research frontiers and hot directions, making it easier for researchers to study the immune control of Kawasaki disease.