Tag Archive for: CCHD

Drs. Wernovsky and Martin

Cardiac care leaders recognized for mentorship and innovation at AAP

Two Children’s National Hospital cardiac care leaders received prestigious recognition awards from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) during that organization’s virtual National Conference and Exhibition in October 2021.

  • Gil Wernovsky, M.D., cardiac critical care specialist at Children’s National Hospital, received the 2021 Maria Serratto Master Educator Award from AAP Section on Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, celebrating his 30-plus-years as a clinician, educator, mentor and leader in the field.
  • Gerard Martin, M.D., FAAP, FACC, FAHA, C. Richard Beyda Professor of Cardiology, Children’s National Hospital, received the AAP Section on Advances in Therapeutics and Technology (SOATT) Achievement Award, in recognition of his work to establish the use of pulse oximetry to screen newborn infants for critical congenital heart disease in the first 24 hours of life.

Dr. Wernovsky: 2021 Maria Serratto Master Educator Award, AAP Section on Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Gil Wernovsky

Gil Wernovsky, M.D., received the 2021 Maria Serratto Master Educator Award from AAP Section on Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.

The Master Educator Award is presented each year to a pediatric cardiologist or cardiothoracic surgeon who exemplifies excellence as an educator, mentor and/or leader in the field.

A practicing cardiac critical care specialist with more than 30 years’ experience in pediatric cardiology, Dr. Wernovsky trained and mentored more than 300 fellows in pediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery, neonatology, critical care medicine and cardiac anesthesia, in addition to countless residents and fellows. He also organizes national and international symposia to share expertise around the world. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, for example, he co-founded the Congenital Heart Academy (CHA). The CHA provides content from an international faculty of cardiac care to more than 26,000 practitioners in 112 countries and includes a thriving YouTube channel.

Dr. Wernovsky is also a founding member of several international societies focused on bringing together clinicians, researchers and students across sub-specialties of pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery for knowledge exchange and best practice sharing. These include: the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society, World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, the International Society of Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support and the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative.

Dr. Wernovsky received the award on October 10 at the virtual Scientific Sessions of the 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition.

Dr. Martin: AAP Section on Advances in Therapeutics and Technology (SOATT) Achievement Award

Gerard Martin

Gerard Martin, M.D., FAAP, FACC, FAHA, C. Richard Beyda Professor of Cardiology, Children’s National Hospital, received the AAP Section on Advances in Therapeutics and Technology (SOATT) Achievement Award.

The Section on Advances in Therapeutics and Technology (SOATT) educates physicians, stimulates research and development and consults on therapeutics and technology-related matters for the AAP. The Achievement Award recognizes someone who has shown leadership in applying innovative approaches to solve pressing problems.

Dr. Martin is the C. Richard Beyda Professor of Cardiology and has cared for children at Children’s National for more than 30 years. As an advocate for congenital heart disease efforts nationally and internationally, he played an integral role in the development of an innovative use of existing hospital technology—the pulse oximeter—to detect critical congenital heart disease in newborn babies.

Today, Dr. Martin and colleagues across the United States and around the world have worked to make this screening method a standard of care for newborns everywhere. It is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Recommended Uniform Screening Panel and has become law in every state. They continue to conduct research to refine the recommendations and hone-in on the most effective ways to harness these tools.

Dr. Martin was selected for this award in 2020. He accepted it and offered remarks during the 2021 virtual AAP National Conference and Exhibition on Monday, October 11, 2021.

Gerard Martin

European workgroup creates recommendations for CCHD pulse oximetry screening

Gerard Martin

Several experts, including Gerard R. Martin, M.D., recently published recommendations for the use and standardization of pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart defects in newborns.

The European Pulse Oximetry Screening Workgroup recently published recommendations for the use and standardization of pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart defects in newborns. Children’s National Medical Director of Global Services Gerard R. Martin, M.D., was among the experts that compiled the recommendations.

Approximately 1 in 500 babies is born with a critical congenital heart defect (CCHD). Because these conditions can cause serious, life-threatening symptoms, early detection and intervention is essential. Pulse oximetry screening (POS) – a method that measures oxygen saturation – is regarded as a simple, quick and reliable tool for early detection of CCHD, and was recommended for use in screening by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association in 2011.

In Europe, although POS is being used by an increasing number of hospitals, few countries have issued national guidelines recommending universal POS. To remedy this situation, neonatologists, experts in CCHD screening, and representatives from major scientific pediatric societies across Europe came together to create recommendations for the use and standardization of POS for early detection of CCHD across Europe.

Their recommendations, which were published in The Lancet, are as follows:

  • POS for critical congenital heart defects should be recommended for all European countries
  • POS should be done with new-generation equipment that is motion tolerant
  • Screening should occur after 6 hours of life or before discharge from the birthing centre (preferably within 24 hours after birth)
  • Screening should be done in two extremities: the right hand and either foot
  • Each country should consider the advantages and disadvantages of the two available protocols and use that which best suits their population

Newborn pulse oximetry screening: which algorithm is best?

Gerard Martin

There’s a consensus that Pulse oximetry screening (POS) is a proven way to find critical congenital heart defects. But, screenings, specifically the algorithm used, vary. Gerard R. Martin, M.D., Medical Director of Global Health at Children’s National Health System, and Andrew K. Ewer, MD, explore which algorithm is best in their just-published article in Pediatrics. Read more.

Lessons learned from newborn screening for critical congenital heart defects

chd_screening

What’s Known

In 2011, screening for critical congenital heart defects (CCHD) became the second point-of-care newborn screening test added to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel, and it has since been widely adopted. Heart defects are the primary targets for CCHD screening, which often require evaluation by echocardiogram. An original list of seven conditions represented the most common critical lesions which routinely present with hypoxemia for newborns. Endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and four other professional medical societies, the CCHD screening using pulse oximetry is required by law in all but two states. Remaining challenges include national data collection and outcomes analyses at the population level.

What’s New

An expert panel including Gerard R. Martin, MD, a cardiologist at the Center for Translational Science at Children’s National Health System, reviewed current practices in newborn screening for CCHD and identified opportunities for improvement. The panel’s study expanded the list of core conditions to 12 to emphasize the importance of other potentially critical, yet treatable secondary conditions. Roughly 79 percent of “positive” screens for CCHD identify secondary conditions, such as sepsis and pulmonary diseases. The study found algorithm misinterpretation was common in states collecting outcomes data, emphasizing needs for proper training and quality-assurance feedback mechanisms. Public health surveillance varied dramatically, with nearly one-fifth of states neither actively collecting data nor planning to do so. Additional CCHD screening research in special settings like the NICU, out-of hospital settings, and areas with high altitude may result in adaptations to screening protocol. Future improvements to the current screening algorithm and analyses of the impact on CCHD outcomes will rely on further investment in a national data repository.

Questions for Future Research

Q: What will be the impact on present screening for CCHD on outcomes of non-CCHD secondary conditions?
Q: What is the optimal algorithm for CCHD based on screening and testing ease of use, costs, resource utilization, and sensitivity for different treatment settings?
Q: What will be the impact on present screening for CCHD on outcomes of non-CCHD secondary conditions?

Source: “Lessons Learned From Newborn Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Defects.” M.E. Oster, S.W. Aucott, J. Glidewell, J. Hackell, L. Kochilas, G.R. Martin, J. Phillippi, N.M.Pinto, A. Saarinen, M. Sontag, and A.R. Kemper. Published by Pediatrics May 2016.