Absence of cardiac toxicity of zidovudine in infants

Article Abstract:

Perinatal exposure to zidovudine in infants does not appear to cause any abnormalities in left ventricular structure or function. In a study of 382 non-HIV-infected and 58 HIV-infected infants, left ventricular fractional shortening, end-diastolic dimension, contractility, or mass did not show any abnormality in the 48 infants exposed to the drug . The mean fractional shortening at 10 to 14 months was similar in both non-HIV-infected and HIV-infected infants with or without zidovudine exposure.

United States, Statistical Data Included, HIV infections, Infants (Newborn), Newborn infants, Pregnancy, Heart ventricle, Left, Left heart ventricle, HIV infection in pregnancy

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Late cardiac effects of doxorubicin therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood

Article Abstract:

Doxorubicin and daunorubicin are anticancer drugs of the anthracycline class. These compounds are known to produce toxic effects on the heart. However, much less is known about their long-term effects on the heart. For this reason, a study of heart function was undertaken in 115 children who had received doxorubicin up to 15 years previously as part of the treatment regimen for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The evaluation of these patients included a questionnaire, electrocardiography, exercise testing, and echocardiographic imaging. Fifty-seven percent of the patients had signs of abnormalities of the heart muscle that were revealed as wall stress or altered muscle contractility. Echocardiography revealed that the thickness of the posterior wall of the left ventricle, when adjusted for body size, was significantly smaller in the doxorubicin-treated patients than in normal control subjects. The most important determining factor of the heart muscle abnormalities was the dose of doxorubicin that had been administered; the majority of the patients who had received only a single dose of doxorubicin had little or no indication of any heart abnormality. Eleven patients had heart failure. However, in no case did heart failure appear only as a late complication long after the chemotherapy. Heart failure occurred within a year of doxorubicin treatment, and in five patients heart failure recurred at intervals ranging from 4 to 10 years after chemotherapy. Two patients required heart transplantation. The results indicate that doxorubicin therapy in childhood does indeed result in impaired heart function. The authors suggest that treatment with the drug may result in the destruction of some heart muscle cells, and that as the child grows this loss is reflected in inadequate muscle mass. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Anthracyclines, Chemotherapy, Lymphoblastic leukemia in children, Acute lymphocytic leukemia, Childhood leukemia, Doxorubicin

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Cardiac structure and function in children with human immunodeficiency virus infection treated with zidovudine

Article Abstract:

Treatment with zidovudine (AZT) may not cause heart abnormalities in children infected with HIV. Children infected with HIV often develop abnormalities in heart structure and function, but the role of zidovudine in the development of these abnormalities has been controversial. Twenty-four HIV-infected children underwent echocardiography before and after beginning treatment with zidovudine and were compared to 27 HIV-infected children who were not treated with zidovudine and 191 healthy children. Function of the left ventricle of the heart was abnormal in HIV-infected children treated with zidovudine, compared with the healthy children. These abnormalities were present in the HIV-infected children both before and after beginning treatment with zidovudine. Enlargement of the left ventricle of the heart occurred both in the HIV-infected children who were treated with zidovudine and in those who were not treated.

HIV infection in children, Pediatric HIV infections

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