Appropriate Use of Echocardiography for Palpitations in Pediatric Cardiology Clinics

BACKGROUND: Palpitations are a common complaint among pediatric patients presenting for outpatient cardiology evaluation. The incidence of causative structural or functional cardiac pathology is low in this patient population. In 2014, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published appropriate use criteria (AUC) for echocardiography in pediatric patients, including recommendations for the evaluation of palpitations. We assessed the frequency of echocardiograms …