Shae Anderson1,2, Courtney E. McCracken2, Ritu Sachdeva1,2
Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 1050-1057, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12679
Abstract Objective: The educational intervention (EI) through the Pediatric Appropriate Use
of Echocardiography (PAUSE) multicenter study resulted in improved appropriate‐
ness of transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) orders at our center. The current study
evaluated if this pattern persisted after cessation of EI and the potential physician
characteristics influencing appropriateness.
Design: Outpatients (≤18 years old) seen for initial evaluation during the EI (July to
October, 2015) and 6‐month post‐EI (May to August, 2016) phases were included.
Comparison was made between TTE rates and appropriateness ratings during EI and
post‐EI phase. Association between TTE rate and appropriateness with physician
characteristics (age,… More >