RDCS Pediatric case studies
RDCS Pediatric · Put your knowledge to work in context.
RDCS Pediatric Echocardiography refers to the Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS) credential with a pediatric echocardiography specialty, one of the specialty examinations offered under the RDCS credential by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS). ARDMS is an Inteleos member community, and its own materials state that ARDMS offers four credentials with 11 unique specialties; Pediatric Echocardiography is listed among the cardiovascular health examinations, alongside Adult Echocardiography and Fetal Echocardiography. The RDCS Pediatric case studies are 5 cases and about 4,302 words.
1The 25-Minute Neonatal Study: Trading Frame Rate, Doppler Range, and Acoustic Exposure
A 2.6 kg, 3-day-old former 34-week infant is ventilated in the NICU with a rising lactate and weak femoral pulses; the surgical team wants a complete study before deciding on transfer. Vitals: heart rate 178 bpm, systolic blood pressure 58 mmHg, temperature 36.1 degrees C.
941 words, about 5 min2Thirty Hours Old: Transitional Circulation or True Pulmonary Hypertension?
At 30 hours of life, a 3.3 kg term infant has a soft grade 2 systolic murmur at the left upper sternal border, oxygen saturation 95% on room air with only a 2% pre- versus post-ductal difference, and mild tachypnea. Echocardiography shows a 3 mm flap-like patent foramen ovale with a low-velocity left-to-right shunt, a ductus arteriosus with left-to-right systolic flow and a brief right-to-left phase in early diastole, a tricuspid regurgitation jet of 2.8 m/s, and an interventricular septum that flattens only at end-systole.
775 words, about 4 min3An 18 mmHg Gradient in a Shocked Neonate: Mild or Critical Aortic Stenosis?
A 2-day-old 3.1 kg term infant (body surface area 0.21 m squared) is mottled with weak brachial and femoral pulses, hepatomegaly, and a lactate of 6 mmol/L; blood pressure is 52/30 mmHg and heart rate 168 bpm. Echocardiography shows a moderately dilated, poorly contracting left ventricle (end-diastolic dimension z-score +2.4; ejection fraction 30% by the 5/6 area-length method), a thickened doming aortic valve with a 0.5 cm annulus, a peak antegrade velocity of 2.1 m/s, increased endocardial echogenicity, and a ductus arteriosus with continuous right-to-left flow.
815 words, about 4 min4A Normal Ejection Fraction in a Childhood Cancer Survivor
A 10-year-old girl (body surface area 1.05 m squared) is three years out from therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with a cumulative doxorubicin dose of 240 mg per m squared. She reports fatigue and cannot keep up in gym.
784 words, about 4 min5Day Three After the Arterial Switch: Open Sternum, Rising Lactate, and a 3.2 m/s Jet
A 4-month-old (5.2 kg) is on day 3 after an arterial switch operation with the LeCompte maneuver for D-transposition with intact ventricular septum. He is febrile at 38.6 degrees C, tachycardic at 168 bpm, and the lactate is rising from 2.1 to 5.8 mmol/L.
987 words, about 5 min