Improving clinical cardiac evaluation for paediatric patients undergoing screening due to a family history of sudden adult death syndrome, sudden infant death syndrome or sudden cardiac arrest

Current guidelines for first-degree relatives of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS), Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) recommend comprehensive cardiological investigation in order to diagnose potential Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICCs).

It is widely accepted practice to screen paediatric first-degree relatives regularly until adulthood; however, frequency and nature of follow-up are not widely defined.

This study will use retrospective analysis to describe the outcome of serial screening in the paediatric age population, using novel parameters to produce comprehensive data.

This data can be used to inform clinical practice by optimising screening intervals and approach in this patient population.

The psychological impact of these sudden and unexpected deaths are devastating events for these families, with the stress then heightened by the probability that it has been caused by a hitherto unknown ICC.

The nature of the screening process can often have a significant psychological, social and emotional impact on paediatric relatives.

This study aims to undertake a mixed methods design, using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires in order to further understand the psychological impact of the screening process on these paediatric patients. It is hoped that this data can then be utilised to develop an intervention for these patients.