Milestone in standards of care for individuals with congenital heart defects
German societies of cardiac surgeons and paediatric cardiologists welcome decision by Joint Federal Committee
The German societies of cardiac surgeons and paediatric cardiologists have heartily welcomed last Thursday’s announcement of the decision by the Joint Federal Committee to lay down binding quality standards and structures in respect of cardiac surgery for children and young people. These new guidelines will ensure that patients with sometimes severe heart defects, whether congenital or acquired in childhood, will only be treated in facilities with proven specialist expertise and a suitable infrastructure. The guidelines were drafted with the assistance of the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (DGTHG), the German Society for Paediatric Cardiology (DGPK) and the German Association for Children with Heart Disease (BVHK).
Professor Friedhelm Beyersdorf, President of the DGTHG, had this to say about the decision: “The provisions contained in the guidelines will bring about a continuous improvement in the treatment of congenital heart defects in Germany. For patients undergoing cardiac surgery, this means their probability of survival and subsequent quality of life will further increase significantly.”
Professor Felix Berger, President of the DGPK, stressed that in the longer term, the structural and quality requirements laid down in the guidelines will benefit all children suffering from congenital heart defects, and added: “When performing any cardiac surgery made necessary by the generally highly complex clinical picture associated with CHD, the specific medical equipment and infrastructure of individual cardiac centres is vitally important, because it guarantees the maximum possible safety and expertise during treatment.”
The guidelines stipulate, among other things, that children and young people with heart disease must be cared for by a highly qualified team of specialists comprising cardiac surgeons, paediatric cardiologists, anaesthetists, cardiac technicians, physiotherapists, paediatric nurses and auxiliaries, and at least one psychosocial expert, all of whom must have several years’ experience in dealing with this kind of patient and must undertake regular specialist professional development training. Furthermore, the guidelines also lay down the structural prerequisites that hospitals must fulfil in order to be permitted to treat children and young people with heart disease.
In Germany, around 0.8 percent of children are born with a malformation of the heart and/or the large blood vessels near the heart, making CHD the most common congenital disorder by far. In 2009, cardiac surgeons in Germany operated on approximately 4,500 premature babies and newborns, infants, children and young people with congenital heart defects; around 2,680 of these patients were less than one year old. Thanks to progress made in diagnostics, interventional and operative procedures and differentiated treatment approaches, nowadays 85 to 90 per cent of these patients will survive into adulthood.
Press release issued by the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (DGTHG) on 22 February 2010
