This may be of interest to some-Robin Troxell
 

The National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN) is offering a related topic to its first webinar session on Congenital Heart Defects (see the members only section on the NBDPN web page for a recording). This new session will also be offered via webinar: 

Deciphering Diagnostic Tools for Congenital Heart Defects 


Presenter: Tiffany Colarusso, MD, FAAP, Pediatrician, Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program, CDC 

Date:  Tuesday, May 13, 2008 

Time:  2:00 - 4:00 Eastern Daylight Time 

WHO: Members of the National Birth Defects Prevention Network, employees of the birth defects programs, individuals who collect data from medical records, individuals who code birth defects data, and birth defects researchers. 

WHERE: All presentations during the meeting will be broadcast live via Net Conferencing. Additionally, there will be a limited question/answer period that participants will be able to join. Handouts will be made available prior to as well as during the sessions. 

HOW: Click here to register. <http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=w0qvw2HmBB5mCLWWTiK5FQ_3d_3d> <http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=w0qvw2HmBB5mCLWWTiK5FQ_3d_3d>  
Registration is FREE but the number of webinar connections is limited. To maximize the number of participants, we ask participants to share their webinar connection. Registration is first come first serve. Register Early!

All participants are asked to register.  For those sharing a webinar connection, please identify one contact person for your group to receive the connection information and for technical purposes.  (There will be a place on the registration form to include this information.) 

Continuing Education Credits will be offered for various professions, including physicians, nurses, certified health education specialists, and other interested health professionals.

Note: These sessions will be available on demand in the future on the NBDPN website <http://www.nbdpn.org/> <http://www.nbdpn.org/>  . 
SUMMARY: 
Congenital heart defects (CHDs), also know as cardiovascular malformations, are common birth defects, affecting 8 out of 1,000 babies in the United States. Their anatomic complexity, nomenclature, and coding pose tremendous challenges to birth defect surveillance programs and researchers (abstractors, coordinators, coding specialists, clinicians). CHDs are diagnosed using a variety of methods, which are often highly technical and specialized procedures.  Deciphering the available information in these diagnostic tools is important in gathering accurate, useful data on CHDs.  

The presenter will provide a brief overview of: 


*	Normal cardiac anatomy and how the heart works 
	

She will also discuss the following topics: 


*	Diagnostic Tests - what can be told by each type of test   
*	Roadmap of an echocardiogram report: Sections of a complete report and the important details describing the heart and major vessels. 
*	Catheterization reports (brief overview)   
*	What to do if reports/diagnostics do not match 
*	What is important for abstractors to look for 
*	Prenatal Diagnosis - utility of prenatal diagnosis; what can be seen/diagnosed prenatally 
*	Clinical Notes and Impressions 
*	Passive Registries:  Using Available Information 
	


QUESTIONS: If you have any questions, contact Miland Palmer <mailto:[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>  at [log in to unmask] or Cara Mai <mailto:[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>  at [log in to unmask] 

This information is also available at http://www.nbdpn.org/current/resources/CHDwebinar2008.html <http://www.nbdpn.org/current/resources/CHDwebinar2008.html> <http://www.nbdpn.org/current/resources/CHDwebinar2008.html>  .