Report from the international society for nomenclature of paediatric and congenital heart disease: creation of a visual encyclopedia illustrating the terms and definitions of the international pediatric and congenital cardiac code

Abstract

Tremendous progress has been made in the field of pediatric heart disease over the past 30 years. Although survival after heart surgery in children has improved dramatically, complications still occur, and optimization of outcomes for all patients remains a challenge. To improve outcomes, collaborative efforts are required and ultimately depend on the possibility of using a common language when discussing pediatric and congenital heart disease. Such a universal language has been developed and named the International Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code (IPCCC). To make the IPCCC more universally understood, efforts are under way to link the IPCCC to pictures and videos. The Archiving Working Group is an organization composed of leaders within the international pediatric cardiac medical community and part of the International Society for Nomenclature of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease (www.ipccc.net). Its purpose is to illustrate, with representative images of all types and formats, the pertinent aspects of cardiac diseases that affect neonates, infants, children, and adults with congenital heart disease, using the codes and definitions associated with the IPCCC as the organizational backbone. The Archiving Working Group certifies and links images and videos to the appropriate term and definition in the IPCCC. These images and videos are then displayed in an electronic format on the Internet. The purpose of this publication is to report the recent progress made by the Archiving Working Group in establishing an Internet-based, image encyclopedia that is based on the standards of the IPCCC.

Keywords: International Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code; Internet; cardiac encyclopedia; cardiac images; cardiac nomenclature; congenital heart disease; databases.