Diagnosis of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome in Children / 实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To discuss the clinical diagnostic method of postural orthostatic tachycarda syndrome(POTS) in children.Methods Thirty-six children with POTS were selected for the research.Among them 15 were boys,21 cases were girls.The age ranged from 5.9 to 16 years,average age 12.3 years.Among them 28 patients(78%) were in between 11-16 years.The age distribution,clinical courses and hemodynamic indexes were analyzed and also the incidence of clinical manifestations and investigation reports were observed.Results Among 81 patients of orthostatic regulation disturbance,36 patients were diagnosed POTS,which was 47% of total.The clinical courses ranged from 1 day to 5 years,average clinical course 10.2 months.The clinical courses of more than half of the total patients were within 6 months(56%).The common clinical features of POTS were chest tightness on standing,vertigo,fatigue,palpitation,syncope,orthostatic regulation disturbance.Ten patients were also associated with gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea,vomiting.The most common feature of POTS patients was tachycardia(HR increased by ≥30 times/min) within 10 min after head-up tilt test(HUT).Average HR increased by 38 times/min.In some patients HR increased up to ≥120 times/min.There were no significant changes in blood.In 23 cases(64%),the T waves were descended by ≥0.2 mV in 2 or more than 2 leads in ECG reading.Investigations reports showed that there were 12 cases whose urine specific gravity was increased.In 11 cases HCO_3~-decreased.Conclusions POTS is commonly seen in schooling female children.The common symptoms are vertigo,chest tightness,fatigue,palpitation.HUT is an important method for the diagnosis of POTS.