Development of quality metrics for ambulatory pediatric cardiology: Transposition of the great arteries after arterial switch operation.

Objective: To develop quality metrics (QMs) for the ambulatory care of patients with transposition of the great arteries following arterial switch operation (TGA/ASO).

Design: Under the auspices of the American College of Cardiology Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology (ACPC) Steering committee, the TGA/ASO team generated candidate QMs related to TGA/ASO ambulatory care. Candidate QMs were submitted to the ACPC Steering Committee and were reviewed for validity and feasibility using individual expert panel member scoring according to the RAND-UCLA methodology.

Outcomes in children with Noonan syndrome and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a study from the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry.

Background: Studies of cardiomyopathy in children with Noonan syndrome (NS) have been primarily small case series or cross-sectional studies with small or no comparison groups.

Methods: We used the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry database to compare the survival experience of children with NS and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with children with idiopathic or familial HCM and to identify clinical and echocardiographic predictors of clinical outcomes.

Results: Longitudinal data in 74 children with NS and HCM and 792 children with idiopathic or familial isolated HCM were compared.

Characteristics and outcomes of cardiomyopathy in children with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy: a comparative study from the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine in pediatric Duchenne (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) or other dilated cardiomyopathies (ODCM) whether outcomes differ by diagnosis.

Background: Children with dilated cardiomyopathy are treated as a single undifferentiated group.

Methods: This cohort study of 128 children with DMD, 15 with BMD, and 312 with ODCM uses outcome measures of left ventricular (LV) size and function, death, heart transplant, and death or transplant.

A national survey on the pediatric cardiologist's clinical approach for patients with Kawasaki disease.

In 1994, the American Heart Association (AHA) published the most recent guidelines for long-term cardiovascular management of Kawasaki disease. Since then, recent publications have shed new light on different diagnostic, prognostic, and management issues. We sought the opinion of pediatric cardiologists practicing in U.

Autonomic alterations in cocaine-exposed infants.

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects autonomic control of the heart. After intrauterine cocaine exposure, asymptomatic newborn infants within 72 hours of life have decreased HRV. It is unknown whether these alterations are transient (acute effect) or persist in older infants and possibly reflect a teratogenic effect of cocaine.