Skip to main content

Recommendations for starting a grown up congenital heart disease (GUCH) unit.

Author
Abstract
:

During the last decades, advances in diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease have allowed many individuals to reach adulthood. Due mainly to the great diagnostic diversity and to the co-morbidities usually present in this age group, these patients demand assistance in a multidisciplinary facility if an adequate attention is aimed. In this paper we reviewed, based in the international literature and also on the authors' experience, the structural conditions that should be available for these patients. We highlighted aspects like the facility characteristics, the criteria usually adopted for patient transfer from the paediatric setting, the composition of the medical and para- medical staff taking into account the specific problems, and also the model of outpatient and in-hospital assistance. We also emphasized the importance of patient data storage, the fundamental necessity of institutional support and also the compromise to offer professional training. The crucial relevance of clinical research is also approached, particularly the development of multicenter studies as an appropriate methodology for this heterogeneous patient population.

Year of Publication
:
1969
Journal
:
Revista brasileira de cirurgia cardiovascular : orgao oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgia Cardiovascular
Volume
:
30
Issue
:
3
Number of Pages
:
373-9
Date Published
:
1969
ISSN Number
:
0102-7638
URL
:
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-76382015000300014&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en
DOI
:
10.5935/1678-9741.20150037
Short Title
:
Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc
Download citation