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Managing Stable Ventricular Tachycardia in an Adolescent—Do Not Grab the Paddles Too Quickly, Case Report

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Abstract

Spontaneous ventricular tachycardia (VT) rarely occurs in pediatric patients. Stable pediatric VT is even more rare and its management is not yet described in the literature. We present an adolescent with palpitations found to have a monomorphic wide complex rapid tachyarrhythmia. Despite her very rapid ventricular rate, she remained hemodynamically stable with successful cardioversion to sinus rhythm without electrical intervention. We highlight the considerations in managing a hemodynamically stable pediatric patient with VT with an emphasis on the utilization of pharmacologic therapies as opposed to electrical cardioversion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Altieri Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA, USA

    Nicole Barbera & Minal Amin

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    Minal Amin

  3. Department of Emergency Medicine, VCU School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA

    Minal Amin

  4. Department of Emergency Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, 3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA, 22042, USA

    Minal Amin

  5. Pediatric Heart Program, Pediatric Cardiology, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA, USA

    Mitchell Cohen

Authors
  1. Nicole Barbera
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  2. Minal Amin
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Contributions

Nicole Barbera, DO: Primary author

Minal Amin MD, FAAEM: Second/supervisory author

Mitchell Cohen, MD: Cardiology consultant and revisions of fully drafted text

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole Barbera.

Ethics declarations

Both the parent of the patient (as she was a minor at the time of case presentation) and the patient (as she was over 18 years old at the time of the manuscript write-up) gave consent for write-up and publication of her case.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Barbera, N., Amin, M. & Cohen, M. Managing Stable Ventricular Tachycardia in an Adolescent—Do Not Grab the Paddles Too Quickly, Case Report. SN Compr. Clin. Med. 3, 1637–1640 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-021-00880-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-021-00880-w

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