Smith BG et al. – The increasingly sensitive and advanced nature of echocardiography and the subsequent reliance upon it may be contributing to unnecessarily frequent review of haemodynamically insignificant congenital cardiac lesions (HICCL) and a reluctance to discharge patients. In the majority of patients with HICCL, no more than two assessments of HICCL are required after 2 years of age – once in late childhood and once near full growth.

• An internet-based survey of 170 paediatric cardiologists and general paediatricians with an interest in cardiology in the UK.
• Five scenarios concerning common HICCL were presented: ventricular and atrial septal defects, patent foramen ovale, mild pulmonary stenosis and persistent ductus arteriosus.

• There were 52 respondents.
• There was a broad range of beliefs and practices. However, there were tendencies to discharge children with a patent foramen ovale and follow patients with all other lesions, often on a relatively frequent basis.