The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) has released a new position statement on training, competencies, and organizational recommendations for adult congenital cardiac interventional procedures.
The guidance addresses catheter-based interventions in adults with congenital heart disease, according to a statement published in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions.
The statement, which was endorsed by the Adult Congenital Heart Association, focused on the following areas:
- Eligibility for training
- Training environment and duration of training
- Procedural volume
Some major recommendations include identifying four main training backgrounds for candidates and individual determination of training periods. Additionally, trainees should participate as primary operators or first assistants in at least 150 adult congenital heart disease catheterization cases during interventional training curriculum. Of those, 100 should be interventional procedures.
Furthermore, the guidance suggests that multidisciplinary teams that include professionals who have experience treating adults and children use a collaborative approach to train future specialists. Also, multisociety collaboration should be used to help establish and maintain competency standards for physicians, according to the statement.
