Exploring the Discussion of Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death.

Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), where death is secondary to cardiac arrhythmia, is associated with several cardiac ion channelopathies, including long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome, as well as cardiomyopathies such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy. Many of these conditions often present in childhood or adolescence. This study investigates how diagnoses of cardiac diseases associated with SADS are communicated within families. A questionnaire was distributed through cardiac disease-focused support groups and organizations. Data from 114 parents who have a child with a SADS condition were used for analysis. Based on the responses, parents explained the risk of SADS in a straightforward manner and related the risk to the importance of compliance with the prescribed treatment. Participants also found it difficult to determine and enforce lifestyle modifications, manage individuals' emotional reactions, convey the seriousness of the information without scaring their children, and discuss the risk of SADS during these conversations. Concerns regarding disease progression, length and quality of life, and treatment failures were also expressed. Healthcare providers, the Internet, other affected people, visual aids, and personal experience were all reported to be helpful for facilitating these discussions. Services and resources requested by participants included children's support groups, a counselor or psychologist, and child-oriented materials. Increased understanding of how families discuss children's diagnosis of SADS conditions will equip healthcare providers with the information to address parental concerns and help facilitate meaningful and informative discussions within families.

The evolution of an integrated ultrasound curriculum (iUSC) for medical students: 9-year experience.

Interest in ultrasound education in medical schools has increased dramatically in recent years as reflected in a marked increase in publications on the topic and growing attendance at international meetings on ultrasound education. In 2006, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine introduced an integrated ultrasound curriculum (iUSC) across all years of medical school. That curriculum has evolved significantly over the 9 years. A review of the curriculum is presented, including curricular content, methods of delivery of the content, student assessment, and program assessment. Lessons learned in implementing and expanding an integrated ultrasound curriculum are also presented as are thoughts on future directions of undergraduate ultrasound education. Ultrasound has proven to be a valuable active learning tool that can serve as a platform for integrating the medical student curriculum across many disciplines and clinical settings. It is also well-suited for a competency-based model of medical education. Students learn ultrasound well and have embraced it as an important component of their education and future practice of medicine. An international consensus conference on ultrasound education is recommended to help define the essential elements of ultrasound education globally to ensure ultrasound is taught and ultimately practiced to its full potential. Ultrasound has the potential to fundamentally change how we teach and practice medicine to the benefit of learners and patients across the globe.

Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease.

BACKGROUND: Effective medical and surgical management of pediatric congenital heart disease (CHD) to reduce long-term adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes is an important clinical objective in primary and specialty health care. We identify clinical predictors associated with an increased risk of 6 long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with CHD compared to the general pediatric Medicaid population. METHOD: South Carolina's retrospective, 15-year Medicaid data set (January 1, 1996-December 31, 2010) for 19,947 patients aged ≤ 17 years diagnosed with ≥ 1 CHD lesions (on the basis of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes) were compared to 19,948 patients without CHD matched on age at entry into and duration in Medicaid using logistic and Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: The CHD cohort was significantly less likely to have incident neurologic or psychiatric disorders, mental retardation, developmental delays, or inattention/hyperactivity (adjusted odds ratios [ORs] = 0.34, 0.56, 0.03, 0.01, 0.004, respectively) but was more likely to have incident seizures (OR = 2.00) compared to controls. Exposure to both cardiac and noncardiac surgical intervention was associated with a significantly increased risk of developing neurologic or psychiatric disorders, mental retardation, developmental delays, or inattention/hyperactivity (cardiac ORs = 1.66, 2.00, 1.67, 1.43, 1.76, respectively) (noncardiac ORs = 2.25, 1.59, 1.48, 1.29, 1.36, 2.46, respectively). Any documented hypoxemia was associated with a significantly increased risk of developing 5 of the neurodevelopmental conditions (neurologic OR = 4.52, psychiatric OR = 1.60, mental retardation OR = 2.90, developmental delay OR = 2.12, seizures OR = 4.23). CONCLUSION: Practitioners should maintain vigilant surveillance of all CHD patients, especially those exposed to surgical procedures or experiencing hypoxemia, to identify any neurodevelopmental issues early and address them promptly.

Individual risk factors and complexity associated with congenital heart disease in a pediatric medicaid cohort.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the sex and race differences associated with specific congenital heart diseases (CHDs) and the patterns of concomitant conditions associated with eight severe, complex lesions. METHODS: A 15-year Medicaid dataset (1996-2010) from one state was analyzed for 14,496 patients aged 17 years and younger and diagnosed as having a CHD on one or more service visits to a pediatrician or pediatric cardiologist. RESULTS: Controlling for all other diagnosed CHDs, boys were more likely to be diagnosed as having transposition of the great arteries, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, aortic stenosis, and coarctation of the aorta, whereas African Americans were more likely to be diagnosed as having tricuspid regurgitation, atrial septal defect sinus venosus, coronary artery anomaly, and pulmonary stenosis. Ventricular septal defects, atrial septal defects secundum, patent ductus arteriosus, and pulmonary stenosis were the most prevalent isolated CHDs, whereas tetralogy of Fallot, atrioventricular canal/endocardial cushion defect, common/single ventricle, double outlet right ventricle, and transposition of the great arteries were the most prevalent severe, complex lesions. The complexity of some severe cardiac anomalies appears to be increasing over time. CONCLUSIONS: Changes over time in pediatric CHD caseload mix may affect care management and result in prognosis or outcome differences. These changes present important opportunities for pediatricians and pediatric cardiologists to collaborate, especially in the care of the most severe anomalies.

Prevalence of treatment, risk factors, and management of atrial septal defects in a pediatric Medicaid cohort.

Atrial septal defects (ASDs) vary greatly depending on their size, age at closure, and clinical management. This report characterizes the prevalence, complexity, and clinical management of these lesions in a statewide pediatric cohort and examines predictors for receiving closures. A 15-year Medicaid data set (1996-2010) from one state was analyzed. The selection criteria specified patients 17 years of age or younger with a diagnosis of ASD primum, secundum, or sinus venosus on one or more service visits to a pediatrician or pediatric cardiologist. During the 15-year period, ASDs represented a prevalence rate for treatment of 0.47/1000 CHDs identified, with 61 % presenting as complex lesions. Concomitant cardiac anomalies that might have a negative impact on prognosis were present including patent ductus arteriosus (26.1 %), pulmonary hypertension (3.8 %), and supraventricular tachycardia (2.4 %). Pharmacologic treatments, predominantly diuretics, were prescribed for 21 % of the cohort. Both surgical closures (6.3 %) and transcatheter closures (1.4 %) were used for ASD secundum cases, whereas surgical closures predominated for ASD primum (25.6 %) and sinus venosus (13.5 %) lesions. The postoperative follow-up period was two to three times longer for children with ASD primum or sinus venosus than for those with ASD secundum (average, ~1 year). Factors predicting the likelihood of having ASD closure were older age, having a concomitant patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) repair, treatment with ibuprofen, having two or more concomitant CHDs, and receiving diuretics or preload/afterload-reducing agents. Care of ASDs in routine practice settings involves more complications and appears to be more conservative than portrayed in previous investigations of isolated ASDs.

Population-based treated prevalence of congenital heart disease in a pediatric cohort.

Extant epidemiologic results for pediatric congenital heart disease (CHD) are dated. Given the degree of variability in previous prevalence estimates and the rapid changes in pediatric cardiology diagnostic and treatment procedures, a reexamination of these rates represents a potentially important update in this area of inquiry. This report characterizes the prevalence rates of children with CHD in one state's treated pediatric population by type of lesion and in comparison with published rates from previous studies. Two 15-year data sets (1996-2010) are analyzed. The inclusion criteria for the study required the participants to be 17 years or younger, enrollees in the South Carolina State Medicaid or State Health Plan, and recipients of a CHD diagnosis on one or more service visits to a pediatrician or pediatric cardiologist. A 15-year accrued prevalence rate for pediatric CHD of 16.7 per 1,000 was found among 1,145,364 unduplicated children served. The annual incidence rates varied from 6.3 to 8.6 per 1,000, with an initial downward trend from 1996 to 2002 followed by an upward trend from 2003 to 2008. A higher prevalence of atrioventricular canal/endocardial cushion defects, common/single ventricle, double-outlet right ventricle, tetralogy of Fallot, and truncus arteriosus and a lower prevalence of dextro-transposition of the great arteries were diagnosed in South Carolina than in other states and countries according to published results. The study results underscore the need for periodic updating of prevalence data for pediatric CHD, both in total and for specific lesions, to anticipate and provide more specialized care to young patients with CHD, especially in the more rare and complex cases.