Self-Perception of Transition Readiness Amongst Pediatric Patients with Childhood Heart Disease.

This study assesses self-report of transition readiness among adolescents and young adults (ages 12-25 years) with childhood and congenital heart disease (CHD), receiving care at Hasbro Children's Hospital, whose CHD diagnosis warranted transfer to adult cardiology care. Patients were mailed the American Academy of Pediatrics/American College of Physicians Transition Readiness for Youth Assessment survey. Confidence scores ranged between 0 (not) and 10 (very).

Surgical patch closure of atrial septal defects.

Background: Development of nonsurgical techniques for closure of atrial septal defects (ASD) has prompted reevaluation of current surgical outcomes with an emphasis on less invasive methods.

Methods: This retrospective review is based on a single surgeon's experience between July 1, 1988 and December 21, 2002 with 176 consecutive adult (n = 47) and pediatric (n = 129) surgeries, in which ASD was the primary anatomical diagnosis to ascertain current optimal methods and outcomes expected for surgical closure. Patch closure with pericardium was used in all cases.