Clinical Assessment Of Dilated Cardiomyopathy In 68 Children

Objective: To investigate clinical characteristics of dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM),with an improve awareness of it.Methods: The clinical characteristics,including onset age,symptoms,examinations and prognosis,of patients diagnosed as DCM in Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University,from Jan.1,2012 to Dec.31,2018,were retrospectively analyzed.Results: Totally,a sum of 68 children were enrolled,with a gender ratio of 1:1.125.The mean onset age was 86.6±47.6 months,and the incidence was highest in children aged 1~6 years,accounting for 39.7%.When onset,the functional class(FC)was evaluated as?(2.9%),?(26.5%),?(38.2%)and?(32.4%).The echocardiography displayed that mean left ventricular ejection fraction(EF)was(36.4±9.5)%,associated with a left ventricular shortening fraction(FS)of(20±5.3)%.Patients were followed up for 1 to 84 months,among which 30 cases(44.1%)were improved,5 cases(7.4%)deteriorated,14 cases(20.6%)in stable condition,12 cases(17.6%)died,and 7 cases(10.3%)lost.The survival rates at 1,2,3 and 5 years were 80.9%,69.4%,63.4% and 62.9%,respectively.EF and FS in the death group were significantly lower than those in the improvement group and the stable group(P=0.019,P=0.005).The incidence of ventricular arrhythmias was higher in the death group and the worsening group.Conclusion: It is concluded that DCM occurred in children at an early age.FC,EF and the incidence of ventricular arrythmias at baseline were significantly correlated with prognosis.Additionally,a long-term follow-up is important for children with DCM.