Clinical trials

Flecainide is a medication used to prevent or treat irregular heartbeats. However, it may worsen existing irregular heartbeats or create new rhythm issues. This is why it is started in the inpatient setting among pediatric patients. The study aims to assess unintended medical occurrences that might happen and identify low-risk patients that can potentially start Flecainide outside of the hospital.

The primary objective of this study is to determine whether prophylactic radiation therapy (RT) to high-risk asymptomatic bone metastases decreases the occurrence of skeletal-related events (SREs), including pathologic fracture, spinal cord compression, and surgery to bone (not including palliative radiation for pain only), compared to standard of care (SOC).

The Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative aims to improve the quality of care for patients with pediatric and congenital cardiovascular disease requiring acute cardiology care in North America and abroad. This is a quality improvement registry for all patients who are admitted the Inova Pediatric Acute Cardiology Care Unit, allowing our center to benchmark outcomes and improve care via a multi-center registry.

This clinical trial is for children on ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), a machine used to support the heart and lungs. This study evaluates the method in which ECMO patients are treated with Red Blood Cell (RBC) transfusions. Most ECMO centers provide RBC transfusions to maintain a certain hemoglobin (Hb) or hematocrit level for children on ECMO. However, the Hb/HCT level at which oxygen delivery is best is not known. This study evaluates RBC transfusion practice to improve treatment and outcomes for children requiring ECMO.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition in which the heart's ventricles (lower chambers) become enlarged and weakened, leading to impaired pumping function. An Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) is a small, battery-powered device surgically implanted in the chest to detect and treat life-threatening, fast heartbeats by delivering electrical shocks to correct dangerous arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. The objective of the study is to characterize children with DCM who receive ICDs and describe overall outcomes as well as risk factors for ICD complications and inappropriate ICD shocks.

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a rare, inherited heart rhythm disorder that can cause a sudden abnormal heart rhythm that can be fatal.  Pregnancy is associated with changes in the mothers' cardiovascular system and hormones, thought to increase risk of abnormal heart rhythms. This study aims to improve understanding of these risk factors and their management among young mothers with CPVT and their fetuses during pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period, assessing efficacy and safety of medications used to treat the condition.

The field of pediatric/congenital interventional cardiology is rapidly progressing with advancement of transcatheter cardiac devices. Many cardiac lesions are now treated with transcatheter cardiac devices instead of open-heart surgery. With increasing complexity of transcatheter intervention in the cardiac catheterization laboratories, it is important to monitor effectiveness and safety of cardiac catheterizations as well and their long-term outcomes.  Multi-centered observational clinical registries can provide quality assessment and improvement to monitor these procedures and improve care.

Tetralogy of Fallot is characterized by four specific heart abnormalities (a ventricular septal defect, pulmonary stenosis, right ventricular hypertrophy, and an overriding aorta). These defects prevent enough oxygen-rich blood from reaching the body. Surgical repair of these defects is associated with an increased risk for sustained ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. This study aims to compare outcomes of patients who undergo electrophysiologic assessment and ablation of abnormal heart muscle signals to those who do not undergo such procedures.  

The Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC⁴) aims to improve the quality of care to patients with critical pediatric and congenital cardiovascular disease. PC⁴ is a unique collaborative of leaders in pediatric cardiac critical care, cardiac surgery, and cardiology. This is a quality improvement registry that allows Inova Health System to measure outcomes of care for pediatric cardiac patients against national standards and to participate in multi-center research collaboratives.

Ebstein anomaly or tricuspid valve dysplasia (EA/TVD) are rare conditions affecting the structure of the tricuspid valve in the heart. Typically, it only allows blood to flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle, but in many children with EA/TVD, there is leakage back into the right atrium. This may cause problems with circulation of blood flow to the rest of the body as well as abnormalities of heart function, and/or heart rhythm. The aim of the registry is to follow the management and outcomes of pregnancies affected by these conditions in order to improve future care pathways.