[Repeated electrical cardioversions and amiodarone for recurrent neonatal atrial flutter]

Abstract

Perinatal atrial flutter is a serious arrhythmia. Its management continues to pose a challenge during the fetal period but also, in rare intractable cases, during the postnatal period. This report describes the case of a neonate who required multiple electrical external cardioversions and amiodarone to resolve a recurrent atrial flutter. This case report suggests that neonatal atrial flutter may be recurrent at short term, that repeated electrical cardioversions with low energy are safe for a neonate, that amiodarone is effective as a premedication before cardioversion and in maintaining sinus rhythm afterward, and finally that the long-term prognosis is good, even when the arrhythmia is initially refractory to therapy.