Mustafa ÖZGÜL, Erkut ÖZTÜRK, Muhammet Hamza Halil TOPRAK, İbrahim Cansaran TANIDIR
Cam and Sakura Medical Journal - 2026;6(1):18-23
Objective: To determine the diagnostic efficiency of using an event recorder (ER) in evaluating paroxysmal symptoms such as palpitations, syncope, and chest pain in children and to compare it with 24-hour rhythm Holter monitoring. Material and Methods: The study included 61 pediatric patients who presented with paroxysmal symptoms and could not be diagnosed using standard tests. Patients' demographic data, clinical complaints, 24-hour Holter recordings, and ER records were analyzed retrospectively. Results: The most common reason for admission was palpitations (57.4%). The most common rhythm finding detected by the ER was sinus tachycardia, identified in 28 patients (73.7%) during symptomatic episodes. Pathological arrhythmias were detected in 10 cases: ventricular extrasystoles (n=8), including uniform and bigeminal patterns and supraventricular tachycardia (n=2). Notably, while supraventricular extrasystoles were detected in two patients on 24-hour Holter monitoring, these findings were absent from the symptomatic recordings obtained with the ER. Gender, age, and the presence of structural heart disease had no statistically significant effect on the success of the ER (p>0.05). Conclusion: ERs offer significantly higher diagnostic success than 24-hour Holter monitoring in the diagnosis of infrequent rhythm disorders in children. Given their effectiveness in establishing symptom-rhythm correlation and promoting patient compliance, they should be considered a priority option for evaluating symptoms that cannot be explained by conventional methods.
