Management of paediatric arrhythmias in Europe

Abstract

We read with great interest the EP wire report entitled ‘How are arrhythmias managed in the paediatric population in Europe? Results of the European Heart Rhythm Survey’ by HernandezMadrid et al. 1 On behalf of the Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology Working Group of the Association for European Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC), we would like to comment on the methodology and content of the article. The EHRA Research Network Centers do not include any of the dedicated paediatric centresproviding interventional electrophysiological therapy. This creates a major sampling errorand negatesthe validityof the conclusions of the survey. By including the paediatric centres, we would expect the results to be markedly different. The conclusion that paediatric catheter ablations in Europe are mainly performed by adult electrophysiology teams is not justified.