Catheter Interventional Closure of a Large Right Pulmonary Artery-to-Left Atrial Communication in a Neonate

Right pulmonary artery-to-left atrial communication is a rare congenital vascular malformation that results in a right-to-left shunting. This report describes the case history of a neonate with a large right pulmonary artery-to-left atrial connection resulting in cyanosis and severe heart failure who underwent successful early catheter interventional therapy. In the neonate, this lesion can be diagnosed accurately using transthoracic echocardiography. Closure of the communication can be achieved even in infants via percutaneous interventional catheterization with a low procedure-related risk and a good midterm follow-up resul

Report of the Coding Committee of the Association for European Paediatric Cardiology

IN 1999 AND EARLY 2000, THE ASSOCIATION FOR European Paediatric Cardiology published the European Paediatric Cardiac Code as independent but linked Short and Long Lists, containing 650 and 3876 primary terms respectively. The historical background and rationale for development of this coding system has been previously detailed, but essentially it followed a series of meeting of the coding committee of the Association between 1997-1999, during which a pre-existing Long List was adopted and then used to create the condensed Short List. The system was published as the recommended standard coding system for use across Europe, covering the diagnosis and therapy of children with congenital and acquired cardiac disease. The scope of the lists was to encompass the needs of all those involved with such patients, from the fetal cardiologist through to the specialist in adult congenital heart disease; and from the general paediatric cardiologist and cardiac surgeon, to those specialising in transcatheter interventions, paediatric electrophysiology, and paediatric echocardiographers. In addition, the code was crossmapped to the 9th and 10th revisions of the International Classification of Diseases ("ICD-9” and "ICD-10”) provided by the World Health Organisation in order to facilitate returns to central government, a requirement in most countries. In so doing, it was hoped to address the concerns of many centres that such information submitted by professional coding staff was often inaccurate due to the complex nature of congenital cardiac disease, together with the limited scope and vague terminology of the International listing

Catheter interventional closure of a large right pulmonary artery-to-left atrial communication in a neonate

Right pulmonary artery-to-left atrial communication is a rare congenital vascular malformation that results in a right-to-left shunting. This report describes the case history of a neonate with a large right pulmonary artery-to-left atrial connection resulting in cyanosis and severe heart failure who underwent successful early catheter interventional therapy. In the neonate, this lesion can be diagnosed accurately using transthoracic echocardiography. Closure of the communication can be achieved even in infants via percutaneous interventional catheterization with a low procedure-related risk and a good midterm follow-up result