Does Celiac Disease Effect Electrocardiographic Markers of Arrhythmic Events in Children?

• Main Authors: Tülay Demircan, Yeliz Çağan Appak, Maşallah Baran, Betül Aksoy, Barış Güven, Nazmi Narin, Cem Karadeniz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Galenos Yayinevi 2021-03-01
• Series: Journal of Pediatric Research
• Subjects: electrocardiography; celiac disease; tp-e dispersion; tp-e/qt ratio; ventricular depolarization; arrhythmias
• Online Access: http://jpedres.org/archives/archive-detail/article-preview/does-celiac-disease-effect-electrocardiographic-ma/44061

Aim:Cardiac abnormalities associated with celiac disease (CD) have been reported. However, changes in electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters in children with CD have not been previously evaluated in the literature. In this study, we aimed to evaluate these parameters which may be determinative in the development of atrial and ventricular arrhythmia of children with CD.Materials and Methods:Patients diagnosed with CD in the gastroenterology clinic were included in the study. ECG measurements of QT, T peak to end (Tp-e) and P intervals were performed. The Tp-e/QT ratio was calculated from these measurements. Echocardiographic and ECG parameters of the patients and controls were compared. Those patients with elevated anti-tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A (IgAtTG) levels were considered positive serology. The patients were divided in three groups and compared with each other according to ECG parameters; namely newly diagnosed patients, patients with seropositive and patients with seronegative who had been on a gluten free diet for at least 6 months.Results:Fifty-two patients with CD and 59 healthy volunteers were included. P-wave dispersion, QTd, corrected QT dispersion (QTcd), Tp-e dispersion and TP-e/QT ratio were higher in those children with CD compared to the controls. We did not find any correlation between IgA-tTG levels and P-wave, QT and Tp-e dispersions. There was no difference between the three groups of CD patients for ECG and echocardiographic parameters.Conclusion:CD is associated with changes in some ECG parameters, which are considered as predictors of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias in special populations. For this reason, children with CD should be evaluated in terms of these parameters, and more electrophysiological studies are necessary to reveal the clinical and prognostic effects of these parameters for CD.