Pediheart: Pediatric Cardiology Today

ECMO use in the pediatric cardiac patient can be lifesaving but the long term effects are still not well known. This week we explore the neurodevelopmental outcomes in a cohort of patients from Boston Children's Hospital who underwent ECMO support following cardiac surgery and explore factors associated with their neurodevelopmental outcomes. How do these patients fare in comparison to non-ECMO pe...

This week we speak with cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Johann Brink about a recent work he co-authored from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia about the team's experience with shunt malfunctions. Are there factors that are associated with shunt failure in this sometimes fragile patient group? Survival to Fontan in most series is roughly 70% - what, if anything, can 'move the needle'...

This week's episode is co-branded with the SADS Foundation and we review a recent work by the team at U. of Washington on a comparison between the ECG and the AHA 14 point evaluation recommendation for the identification of cardiac diseases that may predispose to sudden death amongst high school athletes. We speak with Dr. Jonathan Drezner of U. of Washington about this important work and he offer...

This week we review a recent report from the CTOTC-04 study group assessing the impact of novel anti-rejection approaches which generally markedly reduce or remove steroids in the prevention of rejection. How are rejection rates affected by such an approach? Did incidences of diabetes or PTLD differ when using this form of steroid reduced approach in the 'low immunological risk' subset of patients...

Identification of the tetralogy of Fallot patient at risk for ventricular arrhythmias might be the 'holy grail' of ACHD and still today the best predictors are unclear. This week we review a novel approach to this problem - the development of personalized computational models to effectively perform 'virtual EP studies' and predict reentrant ventricular arrhythmia risk in repaired TOF patients. We...

This week we review a recent work from the team at Children's National in DC and the NIH on the use of 3D fusion of MRI images with fluoroscopy to help inform interventional procedures. Does this form of "XFM" fusion improve outcomes and reduce radiation or contrast usage? Are there procedures in which this form of imaging might be best applied? We review these and other questions with the first a...

This week we review a recent small work on the impact of fetal diagnosis of congenital heart disease on the psychological well being of families. Does the fetal prenatal diagnosis and counseling result in less stress in comparison to the families of those diagnosed in the postnatal period? We review this and other questions regarding prenatal counseling with Dr. Miwa Geiger - Director of Fetal Car...

This week we explore an important paper from CHOP on the optimal approach to repair for Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Is there a benefit to a staged approach versus primary complete repair? Are there factors that might influence this decision of approach? We speak with Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Laura Mercer Rosa of The University of Pennsylvania about her recent large PHIS database study....

This week we celebrate Children's Cardiomyopathy Awareness Month by reviewing a recent work from PACES on the impact of obesity on ventricular thickness in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Does obesity enhance thickness of HCM patients similarly to those without HCM? How does obesity affect risk for SCD in this condition? We review these and other questions with Dr. Seshadri Balaji, Professor of Pedia...

This week we review the impact of conduit size on exercise capacity in the single ventricle Fontan patient. Is there an optimal sized conduit for the Fontan patient? What is the role of formal exercise stress testing in the evaluation and monitoring of the Fontan patient? We review these questions and more with Associate Professor of Medicine at UT Southwestern - Dr. Ari Cedars. doi: 10.1007/s0024...

This week's episode is co-branded with SADS.ORG and we review a paper on the clinical presentation of those who have conditions associated with sudden cardiac death. Are there questions about the patient and family history and physical examination signs that can improve the identification of those at risk before an event of cardiac arrest? We review this important question and others with Assistan...

This week we discuss the results of a phase 2 trial of autologous stem cell therapy for the treatment of patients with HLHS. How challenging was it to obtain autologous stem cells from a large number of patients in multiple locations throughout North America? What are the theoretical benefits for this form of therapy? What evidence presently exists for its potential efficacy? How is this therapy b...

This week we enter the worlds of fellow education and echocardiography to review a recent report of a QI project performed at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia regarding the performance of echocardiograms by first year fellows in cardiology. Can the implementation of a checklist protocol improve the consistency of echocardiograms performed by fellows? What was the impact of this protocol? What a...

This week we review a recent study from The University of Toronto on the impact of timing of the arterial switch operation for DTGA on brain growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Can the timing of this surgery impact these outcomes? What is the reason for this? Is it rational to perform this surgery early to improve neurological outcomes? How important is the conduct in the OR versus the ICU? Th...

This week we review a recent paper on the topic of durable VAD's in congenital heart patients. Who is a candidate for such a device and what are the outcomes with these in this selected patient group? What are the impediments to their use? What role might public reporting have on the use of these devices and transplantation in general on the congenital heart population? We touch on all of these qu...

This week's episode is our second 'co-branded' episode with the SADS Foundation (SADS.ORG) and we speak with the founder and director of Crediblemeds.org, Professor of Medicine Ray Woosley of the University of Arizona. Dr. Woosley speaks with us about how he started the first website dedicated to assessing the evidence for drugs' impact on the QT interval establishing a reliable and trusted websit...

This week we review a recent Swedish paper that assessed the risk for cancer in patients with congenital heart disease and compared this to normal controls in a large administrative database. Why are cancer rates different in the congenital heart patient? What are the most important factors? What actions should be taken by those cardiologists caring for ACHD patients to properly screen for cancer?...

This week we explore a provocative paper on the use of a femoral vein homograft for Sano shunt for Stage I palliation for HLHS. Does the incorporation of this form of shunt improve outcomes? How does the valve in this graft function over time? Are there demonstrable improvements in RV function or PA growth when using this approach? We speak with Dr. TK Susheel Kumar who is Associate Professor of S...

This week we have a replay of an episode from 9 months ago on T wave inversions in athletes and why their presence may represent possible disease in the athlete. We speak with Professor Sanjay Sharma of the UK who is a world authority on this topic. This is an important episode worth hearing once more. Coming this week in the middle of the week is our 75th episode with Professor Sylvia Griffiths!...

This week we review the topic of transposition of the great arteries and the most common late long term complication of the arterial switch operation - supravalvar pulmonary distortion or stenosis. How effective were interventions for this problem and what complications were encountered? Does balloon dilation alone ever work to help this problem? Are there risk factors for possible catheterization...

This week we jump back into the world of ACHD and review a recent registry study assessing outcomes in adults with ASD and elevated PVR who underwent ASD closure. Who was a good candidate for this approach? What were the long term outcomes of this form of therapy? Did ASD closure in this setting confer a survival benefit? We review these and many other questions in a 'virtual roundtable' discussio...

This week we enter the worlds of cardiovascular surgery and interventional catheterization to review a recent STS dataset analysis of postoperative transcatheter interventions. Who needed these sorts of catheterizations more commonly after surgery and what was the relation between needing such an intervention and overall outcomes? How much variability existed between centers in their use of interv...

In this special episode # 71 co-presented with the SADS Foundation (SADS.ORG) we speak with the president of the foundation, Professor Michael Ackerman of The Mayo Clinic about a recent work he co-authored on a novel approach to assessing patients with possible CPVT. How should the phenotype help to inform genotype results? Can a novel CPVT scorecard help to improve our understanding of genetic te...

This week we review the role that complications have on outcomes in the ACHD patient undergoing cardiac surgery. How commonly do complications occur and if they do occur, what impact do these have on ultimate outcomes? Are there strategies that can be employed to reduce complications amongst this fragile patient population? We discuss these issues and more with the senior author of this work, Dr....

This week we speak with Professor Yoav Dori of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia about a recent paper he co-authored on the topic of lymphatic abnormalities in children with Noonan's syndrome. What are the typical findings in severely affected children and who is a candidate for intervention? Are there patients who are good candidates for 'thoracic duct ligation' or pleurodesis? Is there anyone...