Prolonged QT syndrome triggered by swimming: A mimicking cause of seizures not to be missed

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Al Jarallah, Abdullah S.

Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Abdullah Salem Al Jarallah, Department of Pediatrics, King Khalid University Hospital, P.O. Box: 2925, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia. Fax: +966 1 467 9463; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Epilepsy can sometimes be mimicked in children by uncommon conditions. We present a 6-year-old boy with congenital deafness and long QT syndrome (Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome) triggered by swimming. He had bradycardia and a history of early seizures and deaths in the family. He had been misdiagnosed and treated as idiopathic generalized tonic-clonic epilepsy for three years without control.

Keywords: Prolonged QT syndrome, seizures, arrhythmia, deafness, swimming, electrocardiography

Journal: Journal of Pediatric Neurology, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 257-260, 2005