Accuracy of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Diagnosing Pediatric Cardiac Masses: A Multicenter Study.

Background: After diagnosis of a cardiac mass, clinicians must weigh the benefits and risks of ascertaining a tissue diagnosis. Limited data are available on the accuracy of previously developed noninvasive pediatric cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-based diagnostic criteria.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to: 1) evaluate the CMR characteristics of pediatric cardiac masses from a large international cohort; 2) test the accuracy of previously developed CMR-based diagnostic criteria; and 3) expand diagnostic criteria using new information.

Effect of Pressure Recovery on Pressure Gradients in Congenital Stenotic Outflow Lesions in Pediatric Patients-Clinical Implications of Lesion Severity and Geometry: A Simultaneous Doppler Echocardiography and Cardiac Catheter Correlative Study.

Background: Doppler pressure gradients (PGs) are routinely used as a surrogate for catheter peak-to-peak gradient (PPG) for referring pediatric patients with aortic stenosis (AS), pulmonary stenosis (PS), and coarctation of the aorta (CoA) for intervention but do not always predict the catheter PPG accurately, which results in misclassification of lesion severity. We hypothesized that recovered pressure (RP) accounts for the discrepancy between Doppler PG and catheter PPG. We aimed to study the occurrence of clinically significant RP in AS, PS, and CoA.

Moderate-severe primary graft dysfunction after pediatric heart transplantation.

Background: PGD is a complication after heart transplantation (OHT) and a significant cause of mortality, particularly in infant recipients. Lack of standardized definition of PGD in the pediatric population makes the prevalence and magnitude of impact unclear.

Methods: ISHLT PGD consensus guidelines, which include inotrope scores and need for MCS, were applied retrospectively to 208 pediatric OHT recipients from a single institution from 1/2005-5/2016.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in children with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: a longitudinal study.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) often occur in children with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). A 14-year longitudinal study of PAVMs in children with HHT was undertaken to assess the prevalence, the clinical impact, and progression of these malformations. This was a retrospective, single-center study from May 2002 to December 2016 of 129 children with HHT diagnosed using Curacao criteria and/or confirmed by genetic testing.

Post-operative Catheterization Interventions at the Site of Surgery: An Application of the CRISP Scoring System.

Catheter-based interventions in the early post-operative period are performed with caution due to concerns for increased procedural risk, particularly across fresh suture lines. The recently published CRISP scoring system provides prospective risk stratification based on pre-procedural criterion. In an effort to refine the assessment of risk in patients undergoing post-operative catheter-based interventions, the predicted risk of an adverse event based on CRISP scores was compared to actual adverse event rates.

Safety of anticoagulation with uninterrupted warfarin vs. interrupted dabigatran in patients requiring an implantable cardiac device.

Background: The optimal strategy of peri-procedural anticoagulation in patients undergoing permanent cardiac device implantation is controversial. Our objective was to compare the major bleeding and thromboembolic complications in patients managed with uninterrupted warfarin (UW) vs. interrupted dabigatran (ID) during permanent pacemaker (PPM) or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) implantation.