Improved prognosis of heart failure due to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in children.
We analyzed the outcome of 18 children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). There was a striking female preponderance (M:F = 1:3.5) and 15 (83%) presented below the age of 2 years. Follow up for a mean duration of 3.5 years revealed complete recovery in seven (43%) and an additional three (19%) became asymptomatic. Three (19%) died and another three (19%) continued to be symptomatic but in controlled heart failure. Two were lost to follow up. Among those who improved, the majority (75%) did so in 1.5 years. Three of five patients who received periodic dobutamine infusion showed improvement in quality of life. The survivals of 94% at 1 year and 87% at 3 years are significantly better than those previously reported. This is the first such study of IDC in children from the Arab peninsula.
Department of Child Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
P
P
Venugopalan
A K
AK
Agarwal
F O
FO
Akinbami
I B
IB
El Nour
R
R
Subramanyan
D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000401:mortality*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009850:Oman / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies