ABIM ACHD case studies
ABIM ACHD · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Adult Congenital Heart Disease Certification Examination is an ABIM subspecialty examination for physicians who want to demonstrate the knowledge, clinical judgment, and skills required for independent practice in the care of adults with congenital heart disease. ABIM describes its certification examinations as assessments of the knowledge, clinical judgment, and skills essential for high-quality care, and certification as evidence that a physician is ready for independent practice. The examination is administered on odd-numbered years only. In 2027 it is scheduled for Oct. The ABIM ACHD case studies are 5 cases and about 3,486 words.
1A Fontan Patient in Septic Shock: When a Fluid Bolus Is the Wrong Reflex
A 27-year-old woman with hypoplastic left heart syndrome palliated with an extracardiac Fontan conduit at age 3 presents at 2 a.m. with 36 hours of fever, vomiting and new confusion.
676 words, about 3 min2Pregnancy With Severe Pulmonary Regurgitation After Tetralogy Repair
A 29-year-old nulliparous woman with tetralogy of Fallot repaired in infancy via a transannular patch presents at 9 weeks' gestation. She is NYHA class II and works full time.
678 words, about 3 min3Discordant Gradients After Childhood Coarctation Repair
A 38-year-old man had end-to-end repair of coarctation at age 6. He takes losartan 100 mg and atenolol 50 mg daily.
717 words, about 4 min4Severe Systemic Atrioventricular Valve Regurgitation in Congenitally Corrected Transposition
A 47-year-old woman with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (situs solitus, {S,L,L}) had a ventricular septal defect closed in childhood. She has moderate-to-severe regurgitation of the morphologic tricuspid valve, which is her systemic atrioventricular valve.
740 words, about 4 min5Eisenmenger Syndrome, Polycythaemia and a Self-Requested Phlebotomy
A 34-year-old man with an unrepaired perimembranous ventricular septal defect and Eisenmenger syndrome attends clinic with two weeks of headache, blurred vision and fatigue. He also reports one episode of 30 mL of hemoptysis.
675 words, about 3 min