P-wave dispersion in children with acute rheumatic fever.

As a new and simple electrocardiographic marker, P-wave dispersion is reported to be associated with inhomogeneous and discontinuous propagation of sinus impulses. The current study aimed to investigate P-wave dispersion in children with acute rheumatic fever. The study population consisted of 47 children with acute rheumatic fever (29 patients with carditis and 18 patients without carditis) and 31 healthy control subjects. Maximum and minimum P-wave durations were measured from the 12-lead surface electrocardiogram. The P-wave dispersion was calculated as the difference between maximum and minimum P-wave durations. The maximum P-wave duration and the P-wave dispersion of the patients with and without carditis were significantly greater than those of the control subjects. The P-wave dispersion of the patients with carditis was significantly greater than that of the patients without carditis. In conclusion, the P-wave dispersion was higher in the children with acute rheumatic fever than in the healthy control subjects.