TY - THES ID - 137449887 TI - Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in pediatric patients: an overlooked diagnosis? AU - Jochems, Kristian AU - Vlasselaers, Dirk AU - KU Leuven. Faculteit Geneeskunde. Opleiding Master in de geneeskunde (Leuven) PY - 2019 PB - Leuven KU Leuven. Faculteit Geneeskunde DB - UniCat UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:137449887 AB - Background: Takotsubo Syndrome (TTS) is a well-known heart failure syndrome in the adult population, but it is rarely diagnosed in pediatric patients. We aim to improve insight into the causes and clinical manifestations of this cardiac syndrome in the young. Methods: We performed a literature search using a combination of pediatric terms and synonyms to TTS on Embase, Google Scholar and Pubmed. After reviewing 57 articles, a pooled analysis of 58 pediatric patients was performed. We describe the characteristics of TTS in pediatric patients and discuss the differences with adults. Results: Age ranged from 0 to 18 years. There was no gender predominance. All patients but two had physical triggers. Most patients had electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities and elevated plasma levels of cardiac biomarkers. Echocardiography revealed non-apical hypokinesis in 25 (43%) patients and this was associated with the presence of a neurological trigger. Cardiac function recovered spontaneously within a week in most cases. The rate of in-hospital complications was comparable to that of adults. Three (5%) fatal outcomes were observed. Recurrence during follow-up was noted once. Conclusion: TTS is a rare condition in pediatric patients, and is usually preceded by physical stress. The symptoms, clinical course and outcome of pediatric patients are comparable to those of adults with a physical trigger. A prospective study is indicated to assess the long-term outcome of pediatric patients with TTS. ER -