Pediatric Guideline Documents

Permission to reuse portions of ASE guideline documents may be obtained from RIGHTSLINK.  Reprints may be obtained from Elsevier:  less than 250 copies; for more than 250 copies, please contact reprints@elsevier.com.

NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER:  These reports are made available by ASE as a courtesy reference source for its members. The reports contain recommendations only and should not be used as the sole basis to make ical practice decisions or for disciplinary action against any employee. The statements and recommendations contained in these reports are primarily based on the opinions of experts, rather than on scientifically-verified data. ASE makes no express or implied warranties regarding the completeness or accuracy of the information in these reports, including the warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall ASE be liable to you, your patients, or any other third parties for any decision made or action taken by you or such other parties in reliance on this information. Nor does your use of this information constitute the offering of ical advice by ASE or create any physician-patient relationship between ASE and your patients or anyone else.

For translated guideline documents (Mandarin, Spanish and Portuguese), please visit here.

Pediatric/Fetal/Congenital/Neonatal:

New Document Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Practice Guidelines and Recommendations for Training, JASE October 2011
Writing group of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) in collaboration with the European Association of Echocardiography (EAE) and the Association for European Pediatric Cardiologists
(AEPC)
The increasing availability of echocardiography, with miniaturization of the technology, has resulted in more widespread use of echocardiography in NICUs around the world. Perhaps the most significant challenge for the application of functional studies is that newborns in the NICU with hemodynamic instabiliity are at a much higher risk for having underlying CHD. In addition, newborns in the NICU are unique in that they are in the process of transition from fetal to postnatal circulation. In this document, clear distinctions are made between initial echocardiographic studies in neonates with the suspicion of CHD and studies perfor on infants without any clinical suspicion of CHD. The aims of this document are to review the current indications of targeted neonatal echocardiography (TNE), define recommendations for the performance of TNE, and propose training requirements for the operators performing and interpreting TNE.

Other Published Pediatric/Fetal/Congenital Documents:

Recommendations for Quantification Methods During the Performance of a Pediatric Echocardiogram: A Report from the Pediatric Measurements Writing Group of the American Society of Echocardiography Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Council, JASE, May 2010
Echocardiographic quantification is crucial in the diagnosis and management of patients with acquired and congenital heart disease (CHD). ASE and the European Association of Echocardiography have published recommendations on how to measure the size and function of cardiovascular structures in adults, providing reference limits to distinguish normal from abnormal values. Identifying an abnormal measurement helps assess the effect of a disease on the size of a cardiovascular structure, determine when intervention may be necessary, and monitor the effect of the intervention. However, the size of cardiovascular structures is influenced not only by the hemodynamics of disease states and their treatments but also by confounding factors, such as growth, age, gender, race, body composition, basal metabolic rate, hematocrit, exercise, and altitude.

ASE products illustrating the Recommendations for Quantification Methods During the Performance of a Pediatric Echocardiogram document are now available for purchase at ASE Marketplace.

Guidelines and Standards for Performance of a Pediatric Echocardiogram: A Report from the Task Force of the Pediatric Council of the American Society of Echocardiography, JASE, December 2006
Echocardiography has become the primary imaging tool in the diagnosis and assessment of congenital and acquired heart disease in infants, children, and adolescents. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is an ideal tool for cardiac assessment, as it is noninvasive, portable, and efficacious in providing detailed anatomic, hemodynamic, and physiologic information about the pediatric heart.

ASE products illustrating measurements in the Guidelines and Standards for Performance of a Pediatric Echocardiogram document are now available for purchase at ASE Marketplace.

ASE Indications and Guidelines for Performance of Transesophageal Echocardiography in the Patient with Pediatric Acquired or Congenital Heart Disease, JASE, January 2005
A Report from the Task Force of the Pediatric Council of the American Society of Echocardiography

ASE Guidelines and Standards for the Performance of the Fetal Echocardiogram, JASE, July 2004
Fetal echocardiography is the ultrasonic evaluation of the human fetal cardiovascular system. General antepartum obstetrical ultrasound has become a standard part of gestational care and is commonly used for the determination of fetal age, size, gender, or well-being and for the detection of congenital anomalies.