Clinical Research Directory

Follow-up After Percutaneous Device Closure of Ventricular Septal Defects

Ventricular septal defects (VSDs) are the most common congenital heart defects, accounting for 30-40% of congenital cardiac anomalies. They result from an abnormal opening in the interventricular septum, leading to left-to-right shunting. Clinical presentation depends on defect size and pulmonary vascular resistance, ranging from asymptomatic small defects to heart failure symptoms in infancy, with older children developing exercise intolerance or pulmonary hypertension. Although surgical closure has long been the standard treatment, percutaneous transcatheter device closure has emerged as a less invasive alternative for selected VSD types, particularly muscular and suitable perimembranous defects. This approach offers comparable efficacy with reduced morbidity and shorter hospital stays. This bicentric study aims to evaluate procedural success, complications, and short-term outcomes of percutaneous VSD closure in paediatric patients from Upper Egypt, providing essential data to guide clinical practice and quality improvement in tertiary cardiac centres.

PACT Involvement in Cardiology Patients

The goal of this trial is to determine the effectiveness of a machine-learning (ML) model predicting a serious cardiac event within the next three months, when compared pre- versus post-deployment, in pediatric cardiac inpatients. The main questions it aims to answer are whether deployment of the ML model: 1. Increases PACT consultation within the next three months among admissions without PACT involvement in the previous 100 days 2. Increases PACT consultation or visit within the next three months among those who experience a serious cardiac event during this period 3. Decreases time to PACT consultation or visit among those seen by PACT during this period 4. Decreases the incidence of death in the intensive care unit (ICU) 5. Increases documentation of goals of care High-risk cardiology patients will be identified by an ML model each morning. If the patient has been seen by the PACT team within the past year, the update will go to the PACT team members. If the patient hasn't been seen by the PACT team, the email will be sent to the cardiology physician in charge of the patient. This physician will decide whether a PACT consultation is necessary based on their clinical judgment. If so, a referral will be made using the usual process. Outcomes of the identified patients will be compared pre- and post-deployment.