Intracardiac echogenic focus: no apparent association with structural cardiac abnormality

Area of Science:

• Prenatal diagnosis
• Fetal cardiology
• Medical imaging

Background:

• Intracardiac echogenic foci (ICEFs) are commonly detected during prenatal sonography.
• The clinical significance of ICEFs in low-risk pregnancies remains a subject of investigation.
• Previous studies have explored the association between ICEFs and fetal cardiac anomalies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if intracardiac echogenic foci (ICEFs) are associated with an increased risk of structural cardiac anomalies in a low-risk fetal population.
• To evaluate the incidence and location of ICEFs in fetuses undergoing routine prenatal screening.
• To compare the prevalence of cardiac anomalies in fetuses with and without ICEFs.

Main Methods:

• Prospective screening of 3,744 low-risk patients over 24 months using prenatal sonography.
• Identification of 138 fetuses (3.7%) with ICEFs, forming the study group.
• Comparison with a control group of 167 fetuses without ICEFs, with complete echocardiographic evaluation for all.

Main Results:

• The majority of ICEFs (78%) were located in the left ventricle.
• No statistically significant difference in the presence of cardiac anomalies was observed between the study and control groups.
• Isolated cases of pulmonic stenosis (study group) and bicuspid aortic valve (control group) were noted, with no significant association with ICEFs.

Conclusions:

• Intracardiac echogenic foci (ICEFs) detected in low-risk fetuses are not associated with a significant increase in the risk of structural cardiac anomalies.
• The presence of ICEFs alone does not warrant further investigation for cardiac defects in low-risk pregnancies.
• Routine prenatal sonography findings of ICEFs in low-risk populations can be reassuring regarding fetal cardiac health.