OUTPATIENT PAEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY SERVICES

The division runs an Outpatient clinic at the UHI on all normal public working days.

The following services are available in the outpatient department; Consultations, Resting Electrocardiography (ECG), 24-Hour Ambulatory ECG (Holter monitoring), Echocardiography (Trans-Thoracic and Trans-Esophageal), Laboratory, Pharmacy and Health promotion talks.

In addition, the staff from the division also support a weekly (every Thursday) Paediatric Cardiac clinic in the general Mulago Hospital on ward 15.

Some of the Cardiac problems diagnosed include;
i. Holes in the heart (Atrial Ventricular Septal defect – ASDs ,VSDs)
ii. Patent Ductus Arteriosus
iii. Tetralogy of Fallot, among others congenital heart defects.

INPATIENT PAEDIATRIC CARDIAC SERVICE

The division provides in-patient service for children with heart disease at the UHI. In addition, the division responds to consultation requests for children admitted to the general Paediatric ward of Mulago hospital.

Working hand–in–hand with the cardiac surgeons, the Paediatric cardiology team prepares patients for Open heart surgery and follows up with postoperative patients.

TRAINING

The division is currently training 5 Paediatric Cardiology fellows and also provides clinical teaching and lectures to various Postgraduate and Nursing students from Makerere College of Health Sciences and Nsambya Hospital’s Mother Kevin Post-graduate School of medicine.

PAEDIATRIC CARDIAC INTERVENTIONS

The division has 2 Paediatric Interventional Cardiologists who carry out interventional procedures in the Cardiac Catheterization laboratory. Common procedures performed include;
Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization, Device closure of Patent ductus arteriosus and Atrial Septal defects, Balloon Pulmonary/ Aortic/ Mitral Valvuloplasty, and Balloon Atrial septostomy.

OUTREACH SERVICES

The division provides Outreach services to the 13 Public Regional Referral Hospitals and has already established a strong presence in 3 of them namely; Gulu, Mbarara and Jinja Regional Referral Hospitals where there are weekly Paediatric cardiac services.

RESEARCH

The division is actively involved in research activities and is currently investigating the organisms responsible for causing infective endocarditis, and the adult congenital heart disease study reveals publications that have emerged from the department.