ReviewCardiology in the young2026
A scoping review of the evidence supporting antiarrhythmic use after paediatric cardiac surgery.
Review in Cardiology in the young, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundArrhythmias after paediatric cardiac surgery occur frequently and contribute to postoperative morbidity and mortality. There is limited literature assessing the safety and efficacy of common antiarrhythmics administered in this population.
methodsWe systematically searched PubMed and EMBASE for literature on antiarrhythmic use in children <18 years of age after cardiac surgery from 2000 to 2024. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and then reviewed full-text manuscripts to determine eligibility.
resultsWe identified 28 studies of 3,752 patients across 11 different antiarrhythmics: flecainide, procainamide, esmolol, landiolol, propranolol, amiodarone, sotalol, dexmedetomidine, digoxin, ivabradine, and magnesium. Most studies were small, with 17 enrolling fewer than 100 children. Only eight studies were randomised, 16 were retrospective, 12 were prospective, and one was multicenter. Safety and efficacy endpoints varied widely, limiting our ability to combine data for meta-analysis. Overall, evidence supporting the use of these drugs in children after cardiac surgery was limited.
conclusionAlthough antiarrhythmics are commonly used in children after cardiac surgery, randomised trials with standardised endpoints to guide choice of therapy are lacking. Pragmatic trials to generate real-world data should be considered to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of various antiarrhythmics in this population.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.