The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2009 , Vol 51 , Num 4
Treatment of Dilated Cardiomyopathy with Carvedilol in
Children
Pediatric Cardiology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
We performed a study to examine the clinical use of carvedilol, its dosage and
its effects on systolic functions in children. Twenty-one patients with dilated
cardiomyopathy who were treated with carvedilol adjacent to standard heart
failure therapy were enrolled in the study. Echocardiographic assessment was
obtained before and during carvedilol therapy, and left ventricular fractional
shortening and left ventricular ejection fraction were determined in order to
estimate left ventricular function. At a follow-up of six months, left ventricular
ejection fraction and fractional shortening significantly improved from 38±10%
to 53±13% and from 19±6 % to 27±8%, respectively, following carvedilol
treatment. The results of the present study indicate that carvedilol is well
tolerated in children with dilated cardiomyopathy and there is a significant
improvement in the clinical status and left ventricular ejection fraction in
patients not responding to conventional therapy. Patient selection criteria,
optimal timing of carvedilol therapy, its dosage and its long-term effects need to
be investigated with multi-institutional trials and large numbers of patients.
Keywords :
carvedilol, heart failure, beta-blocker, dilated cardiomyopathy, treatment.