Catheter ablation in children and patients with congenital heart disease: Review of 1021 procedures at a high-volume single center in Japan

Background Although pediatric catheter ablation therapy has often been described, few reports on outcomes in a large series of patients at a single center are available. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate arrhythmia substrates, outcomes, and complications of catheter ablation in children and patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) performed at a single center. Methods We retrospectively analyzed all pediatric patients Results A total of 1021 ablation procedures were performed in 877 patients (median age 12.5 years; range 2 months to 67 years). This cohort included 152 CHD patients, 90 small patients ( Conclusion Catheter ablation is safe and effective for treatment of arrhythmia in pediatric and CHD patients. However, ablation was less successful in small patients and CHD patients. The risk of complications was similar to those previously reported for catheter ablation in pediatric, CHD, and adult patients.