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Updated: May 29, 2026
Fetal Echocardiography and Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Published on: June 29, 2013
[Diagnostic problems in fetal echocardiographic examination. Observations on a lot of study during 2005-2010]
Monica Titianu1, Carmina Schaas, M Onofriescu
1Universitătii de Medicină şi Farmacie Gr. T. Popa Iaşi, Facultatea de Medicină.
Insights
Fetal echocardiography can lead to diagnostic errors, impacting accuracy in detecting congenital heart defects. Improving examiner experience and employing sequential assessments are crucial for precise fetal cardiac diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Prenatal Diagnosis
Background:
- Echocardiography is essential for diagnosing structural heart diseases.
- Fetal heart ultrasound is a key tool in prenatal care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify potential sources of error in fetal heart ultrasound examinations.
- To emphasize the importance of accurate diagnosis in prenatal cardiology.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective analysis of 39,370 fetal echocardiograms over six years.
- Standardized international protocols for basic and extended cardiac scans were followed.
Main Results:
- Cardiac malformations were identified in 442 fetuses (1.12%).
- Diagnostic errors can result in false positives, false negatives, or incomplete diagnoses.
Conclusions:
- Examiner experience significantly impacts the accuracy of fetal echocardiography.
- Assessing complex congenital heart lesions presents challenges, sometimes requiring repeat scans or sequential evaluations.
- Accurate fetal heart assessment aids in family counseling and planning for neonatal care.
Unlabelled:
Echocardiography is the key diagnostic method in the diagnostics of structural heart pathologies.
Aim:
To underline some possible situations that may cause errors in ultrasound examination of the fetal heart.
Material And Method:
We examined a number of 39,370 fetuses along a period of six years. The ultrasound scan was performed according with international standards of basic and extended cardiac scan.
Results:
442 of them (1.12%) were diagnosed with cardiac malformations.
Conclusion:
Ultrasound examination errors can cause false positive, false negative or incomplete diagnosis. Limitations in fetal echocardiography are related to the examiner experience to do an accurate diagnosis. The difficulty of assessing complex congenital heart lesion is increased. The unsatisfactory study should be repeated and sometimes the exact diagnosis requires sequential procedures. The aim is to define fetal heart anatomy and adise the family, in collaboration with neonatologist. The final results ia an optimal behavior for the fetus and newborn.
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