Adaptations of Pediatric Cardiology Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: During the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring and summer of 2020, pediatric heart centers were forced to rapidly alter the way patient care was provided in order to minimize interruption to patient care as well as exposure to the virus. In this study, we used a survey-based approach to characterize the changes that occurred in pediatric cardiology practices across the country during and just following the initial peak of COVID-19.

Methods: In this survey based descriptive study we characterize changes that occurred within pediatric cardiology practices across the United States and describe provider experience and attitudes towards these changes during the pandemic. decision making during this period. This survey was emailed to an existing list serve of American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery (AAP:SOCCS) members. Recipients of the survey included pediatric cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and fellows-in-training. The questionnaire was initially distributed in June 2020 and was active through August 2020.

Results: Surveys were returned by 79 participants across 28 states. Areas of practice of respondents included general cardiology, non-invasive imaging, electrophysiology, heart failure/transplant, interventional cardiology, and adults with congenital heart disease. Common changes that were implemented included decreased numbers of procedures, limiting visitors, and shifting towards telemedicine encounters. There was a high level of satisfaction among providers with telemedicine encounters and a variety of platforms were utilized. Echocardiography was less likely to be performed during the pandemic as compared to prior to the pandemic in nearly all clinical scenarios presented. More than half of respondents expressed concerns about financial stability with regards to personal or practice situation but most were not frequently concerned about their personal safety.

Conclusion: Pediatric cardiology practice across the country was heavily impacted by COVID-19 and required many adaptations including minimization of non-essential procedures and increasing use of telemedicine. Providers were generally satisfied with telemedicine and utilized several platforms. Financial concerns were common; however, most participants were not frequently concerned about personal safety. Inter-institutional collaboration could be useful in creating standardized protocols based on shared experiences that could be rapidly implemented in future public health crises.