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SCMR Survey of Centers Performing CMR in Pediatric/Congenital Heart Disease: 2024 Update
Sujatha Buddhe1, Brian D Soriano2, Hunter C Wilson3
1Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Stanford University School of Medicine.
Insights
Pediatric and congenital heart disease cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) practice has significantly increased, with more infants undergoing scans and higher sedation use. These trends highlight evolving care standards and resource needs in pediatric cardiology.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Congenital Heart Disease
Background:
- Limited data previously existed on practice trends for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in pediatric and congenital heart disease (CHD).
- The Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) initiated international surveys in 2014 and 2018 to address this gap.
- This study presents the latest findings from the 2024 SCMR survey on CMR practice trends.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive overview of current cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) practices for pediatric and congenital heart disease (CHD) globally.
- To identify trends in case volume, technology utilization, patient demographics, and staffing over time.
- To inform benchmarking, resource allocation, and quality improvement initiatives in the field.
Main Methods:
- International surveys were distributed to SCMR members in 2014, 2018, and 2024, with 31, 33, and 41 items respectively.
- One response per CMR center was collected, detailing various aspects of their practice.
- Data from 93 (2014), 83 (2018), and 124 (2024) responding centers were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Median annual pediatric/CHD CMR cases increased from 183 (2014) to 250 (2024), with 82% of consistently responding centers showing volume growth.
- CMR use in infants (<1 year) rose to 90% in 2024, with sedation/anesthesia use increasing to 94%.
- The proportion of pediatric/adult cardiologists reading CMRs was 62%, while radiologists constituted 37%.
Conclusions:
- The survey data offer a unique global perspective on pediatric/CHD CMR practice.
- Findings are valuable for internal benchmarking, resource planning, and addressing practice variations.
- The information supports quality improvement efforts and the identification of unmet needs in pediatric cardiovascular imaging.
Background:
Few data exist on practice trends for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in pediatric and congenital heart disease (CHD). The Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance addressed this gap by conducting an international survey of CMR sites in 2014 and 2018. We now report the most recent survey results from 2024.
Methods:
Surveys with 31 (2014), 33 (2018), and 41 (2024) items were sent to all SCMR members. One response per center was collected.
Results:
There were 93 centers that responded in 2014, 83 in 2018, and 124 in 2024. The following results are per center and data from 2014, 2018, and 2024 are separated by dashes. The median annual number of pediatric/CHD CMR cases was 183-209-250. The median number of CMR scanners was 2-2-2 (range, 1-8) with 58-63-53% using only 1.5T scanners and 4-4-3% using only 3T. CMR examinations were performed in infants (<1 year old) in 74%-76%-90% and sedation and/or anesthesia was used in 84%-86%-94% of the centers. The mean number of attendings/staff reading CMRs was 3.7-2.6-2.9. Combining attending/staff physicians from all centers, 52-61-62% were pediatric or adult cardiologists, and 47-38-37% were pediatric or adult radiologists. The median annual case volume per physician per center was 54-86-76. The median number of technologists was 4-5-4. The median scanner time allocated for a non-sedated examination was 75-75-75minutes (range, 30-120minutes). Among the 14 centers responding to all 3 surveys, the mean annual case volume was 380-500-588, with 82% of centers experiencing a sequential increase in volume with each survey. All of these 14 centers were in the United States and for them, the mean time for an attending/staff physician to perform a typical CMR examination, including supervision and reporting, was 150-153-154minutes, and the median scanner time allocated per ex per year was 92 in the amination for non-sedation cases remained unchanged at 90-90-90minutes.
Conclusion:
These survey data provide a unique and comprehensive view of CMR practice in pediatric and CHD across centers worldwide. This information is useful for internal benchmarking, resource allocation, addressing practice variation, quality improvement initiatives, and identifying unmet needs.
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