Atrial flutter in preterm babies
- Neonatal Unit, Birmingham Women’s Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TL, UK; s_siva_kumar@yahoo.com
Atrial flutter is uncommon in neonates without congenital heart disease or cardiac surgery. It forms about 3% of cardiac arrhythmias in the newborn.1 Although idiopathic atrial flutter can occur in the fetus,2,3 accounting for 30% of fetal arrhythmias in one series,4 spontaneous conversion often occurs during birth. I share our experience of two preterm babies who had atrial flutter associated with maternal opiate abuse. There are no previous case reports on this association.
The first case was of a 27 week gestation baby born to …
