INTRODUCTION:
Advances in technology have increased our ability to utilize implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) in the young. ICDs are primarily implanted to provide protection against lethal arrhythmias for children with inheritable arrhythmia syndromes, congenital heart disease (CHD), and cardiomyopathies. Increasingly they are being considered among children with arrhythmias and severe heart failure on ventricular assist devices. Studies have shown that the use of ICDs as a bridge to transplantation decreases pre-transplant mortality. Little is known about the rates of mortality, hospitalizations, or causes of death among children with ICD implantations. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate trends in hospital admissions among children with ICDs. Our secondary aims were to determine hospital mortality rates and to explore factors associated with in-hospital death. We hypothesized that 1) ICD related hospitalizations have increased over time and would be higher in patients with primary cardiomyopathies or congenital heart disease compared to those with primary arrhythmia disorders and 2) in-hospital mortality is more likely to be associated with underlying factors such as congenital heart disease or heart failure.